🎒 Back-to-school season brings changing routines, new exposures, and added demands on the whole family. Support your family’s health this season with Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine’s Back-to-School 2026 resources.

Back-to-School 2026:

https://richmondfunctionalmedicine.com/lp/back-to-school-2026/

In this deeply personal episode of Made for Health, Dr. Aaron Hartman sits down with Dr. Efrat “Dr. E” LaMandre, a family nurse practitioner, PhD in Integrative Medicine, host of the Medical Disruptor podcast, and a leading voice on medical gaslighting.

What begins as a conversation about why patients feel dismissed when their tests come back “normal” becomes something much more personal. Dr. E shares that she was recently diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer after months of back pain that she repeatedly minimized herself. The experience transformed her from a clinician who teaches patient advocacy into a patient navigating the healthcare system firsthand. Pasted text

Together, Dr. Hartman and Dr. E explore a rarely discussed side of medical gaslighting: the ways patients can begin gaslighting themselves. We may apologize for taking a clinician’s time, downplay symptoms, assume normal tests mean nothing is wrong, or ignore the internal sense that something has changed.

Their message is not to reject conventional medicine. It is to understand what each clinician can and cannot provide, continue investigating when symptoms persist, and build a healthcare team capable of looking at the whole picture.

Key Topics Covered

What medical gaslighting actually meansWhy normal laboratory results do not automatically mean a patient feels wellWhy patients may feel dismissed even by well-intentioned cliniciansPopulations most affected by medical gaslightingWhy women may be especially likely to minimize their symptomsFatigue, migrating pain, unusual sensations, and GI complaints that can be difficult to fit into conventional diagnostic categoriesThe habit of “pre-apologizing” before describing symptomsHow patients learn to become “good patients”Why people sometimes trust test results more than their own bodily experienceIntuition as a form of pattern recognitionThe importance of knowing when something is different from your normalWhy self-advocacy does not mean rejecting doctorsUnderstanding the limitations of individual medical specialtiesWhy conventional testing still mattersHow to build a multidisciplinary healthcare teamChoosing clinicians and researchers over unqualified health adviceAvoiding overwhelm when facing a complex diagnosisWhy healing plans may need to be implemented graduallyThe emotional and mental challenges of serious and chronic illnessHope, family, purpose, and continuing to move forward

In This Episode, You Will Learn

✅ What medical gaslighting can look like even when the clinician has good intentions

✅ Why being told “your tests are normal” should not automatically end the conversation when symptoms persist

✅ How patients can unknowingly participate in their own medical gaslighting by dismissing or minimizing what they feel

✅ Why Dr. E now tells patients to get concerning symptoms checked instead of talking themselves out of evaluation

✅ Why self-advocacy is not the same as being confrontational or distrustful of medicine

✅ How intuition can reflect years of subconscious pattern recognition

✅ Why every specialist has a particular role—and why complex health problems may require an entire team

✅ How to decide whose medical advice deserves your attention when everyone around you has an opinion

✅ Why you do not have to make every lifestyle or treatment change at once

✅ What becoming a patient taught Dr. E about exhaustion, uncertainty, hope, and the emotional burden of illness

Connect With Dr. Efrat LaMandre

🌐 Website:

https://www.drefratlamandre.com/

🎙️ Medical Disruptor Podcast:

https://www.drefratlamandre.com/e-podcasts

Dr. E shares additional education and updates under Dr. Efrat LaMandre across her social platforms. Her official website describes the Medical Disruptor podcast as a show featuring credentialed clinicians who examine the limits of conventional care while exploring integrative solutions. Dr E.

Resources & Links:

🌐 Dr. Aaron Hartman – Richmond Functional Medicine: richmondfunctionalmedicine.com

🌐 LinkedIn – Dr. Aaron Hartman: Connect Here

📺 YouTube – Richmond Functional Medicine: Watch Here

🎒 Back-to-School 2026: Back-to-School Bundle

Mentioned in this episode:

25% Off Back to School Support for Parents

Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale

Back to School Support for Parents

25% Off Back to School Support for Parents

Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale

Back to School Support for Parents

🎒 Back-to-school season brings changing routines, new exposures, and added demands on the whole family. Support your family’s health this season with Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine’s Back-to-School 2026 resources.

Back-to-School 2026:

https://richmondfunctionalmedicine.com/lp/back-to-school-2026/

In this Made for Health minisode, Dr. Aaron Hartman continues exploring an important question: Why are you still sick? Why does your body seem unable to get back into a healing state?

This time, he focuses on dysautonomia and POTS—Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome—conditions involving dysfunction in the autonomic nervous system, which helps regulate processes such as heart rate, blood pressure, temperature, digestion, sleep, and the body's response to stress. Pasted text

For some people, the signs are dramatic. For others, they can be subtle: feeling lightheaded when standing, experiencing a racing or pounding heart seemingly out of nowhere, waking suddenly at night, struggling with brain fog, cold hands and feet, unusual skin color changes, temperature intolerance, or simply feeling significantly better after fluids, electrolytes, compression, or time spent calming the nervous system. Pasted text

Dr. Hartman explains why dysautonomia can easily become one more overlooked layer in complex chronic illness—and why identifying what originally disrupted the nervous system may be just as important as identifying POTS itself.

Key Topics Covered

What dysautonomia meansWhat POTS is and how it relates to dysautonomiaThe sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systemsLightheadedness and dizziness after standingHeart racing and unexplained palpitationsBrain fog and difficulty thinkingWaking at night with a racing heartCold hands and feetChanges in skin color and circulationProblems regulating body temperatureSleep, mood, hormonal, and gastrointestinal symptomsWhy mild dysautonomia may be overlookedFluids and electrolytesCompression garmentsNervous-system regulationDysautonomia after concussion or head injuryLong COVID and post-infectious dysautonomiaLyme disease and nervous-system dysfunctionHypermobility and POTSMast Cell Activation SyndromeAutoimmune and gastrointestinal overlapWhy the patient's history can guide treatmentThe NASA Lean TestPhysical examination findings Dr. Hartman considersWhy treating the underlying trigger matters

In This Episode, You Will Learn

✅ Why POTS is only one form within the broader category of dysautonomia

✅ How autonomic nervous-system dysfunction can affect much more than heart rate and blood pressure

✅ Why symptoms may sometimes resemble anxiety or panic

✅ Why someone can have significant autonomic symptoms without fitting a textbook presentation

✅ How POTS and dysautonomia may overlap with hypermobility, mast-cell activation, mold illness, Lyme disease, autoimmune issues, gut problems, and post-infectious conditions

✅ Why Dr. Hartman asks when the symptoms started and what happened around that time

✅ How concussion, illness, trauma, infection, or other physiological stressors may become part of the clinical timeline

✅ Why fluids, electrolytes, compression, strengthening, and nervous-system regulation may become part of an individualized approach

✅ How the NASA Lean Test can help collect heart-rate and blood-pressure information over time

Resources & Links:

🌐 Dr. Aaron Hartman – Richmond Functional Medicine: richmondfunctionalmedicine.com

🌐 LinkedIn – Dr. Aaron Hartman: Connect Here

📺 YouTube – Richmond Functional Medicine: Watch Here

🎒 Back-to-School 2026: Back-to-School Bundle

Mentioned in this episode:

25% Off Back to School Support for Parents

Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale

Back to School Support for Parents

25% Off Back to School Support for Parents

Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale

Back to School Support for Parents

🎒 Back-to-school season brings changing routines, new exposures, and added demands on the whole family. Support your family’s health this season with Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine’s Back-to-School 2026 resources.

Back-to-School 2026:

https://richmondfunctionalmedicine.com/lp/back-to-school-2026/

In this special episode of Made for Health, Dr. Aaron Hartman shares the deeply personal story behind his journey from conventional family medicine into integrative and functional medicine—and why Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine exists today.

The turning point began with his daughter, Anna.

When Dr. Hartman and his wife began caring for Anna, who had cerebral palsy and significant medical needs, they quickly found themselves questioning recommendations from specialists. One of the earliest moments involved a recommendation for a feeding tube because Anna was considered extremely small on a standard growth chart. Dr. Hartman and his wife declined, believing there might be another path. Months later, they discovered a growth chart specifically for children with cerebral palsy—and Anna was right in the middle of the expected range. Pasted text

That experience fundamentally changed how Dr. Hartman viewed expertise, medical decision-making, and the importance of looking at the right frame of reference for the individual patient.

From there, his family continued exploring alternatives when standard medicine seemed to offer only procedures, medications, or surgery. Their search took them into nutrition, genetics, advanced gut testing, functional neurology, rehabilitation technologies, neuromodulation, and other approaches that were often being used elsewhere long before they became familiar in mainstream American medicine. Pasted text

Today, Anna continues to make progress far beyond what her family was originally told to expect. Dr. Hartman shares how that experience shaped not only his life as a father but also his identity as a physician, researcher, and lifelong student of medicine. Pasted text

Key Topics Covered

How Dr. Hartman originally entered medicineThe difference between learning medicine and truly learning how to healHow adopting Anna changed his personal and professional lifeRaising a child with cerebral palsy and significant medical needsWhy his family began questioning specialist recommendationsAnna’s feeding-tube recommendation and the importance of the correct clinical reference pointWhy medical experts can sometimes be wrongMedical gaslighting and families with special-needs childrenLooking beyond one-size-fits-all treatmentWhy function mattered more than appearance in Anna’s careExploring nutrition, genetics, gut health, and functional neurologyTechnologies and therapies used in neurological rehabilitationWhy Dr. Hartman became increasingly interested in root-cause medicineHis transition from traditional family medicine into functional medicineThe role of clinical research in shaping his thinkingIFM, integrative medicine, functional medicine, and advanced trainingLearning about mold, CIRS, mast-cell activation, and hypermobilityHow his understanding of chronic illness evolved over timeWhy short conventional appointments were not enough for complex patientsThe creation of Richmond Integrative & Functional MedicineWhy complex patients need time, curiosity, and individualized careMoving the practice to a fully functional-medicine modelThe role of faith, family, persistence, and continuing educationDr. Hartman’s vision for the future of personalized medicine

In This Episode, You Will Learn

✅ Why caring for his daughter became the biggest turning point in Dr. Hartman’s medical career

✅ How using the wrong clinical reference point almost led Anna toward an unnecessary feeding tube

✅ Why Dr. Hartman began questioning the idea that specialists always have the complete answer

✅ How parenting children with complex health needs pushed him to investigate nutrition, genetics, neurology, and rehabilitation more deeply

✅ Why functional medicine appealed to him as a way of asking “Why?” rather than only treating the diagnosis

✅ How research helped him recognize that many “new” therapies are often built on decades of previous science

✅ Why conditions such as mold illness, mast-cell activation, hypermobility, and complex chronic illness required him to keep expanding his training

✅ Why he eventually realized complex patients needed much more than a 10- or 12-minute appointment

✅ How Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine grew from a personal family journey into a practice serving patients with complex chronic conditions

Resources & Links:

🌐 Dr. Aaron Hartman – Richmond Functional Medicine: richmondfunctionalmedicine.com

🌐 LinkedIn – Dr. Aaron Hartman: Connect Here

📺 YouTube – Richmond Functional Medicine: Watch Here

🎒 Back-to-School 2026: Back-to-School Bundle

Mentioned in this episode:

25% Off Back to School Support for Parents

Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale

Back to School Support for Parents

25% Off Back to School Support for Parents

Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale

Back to School Support for Parents

🎒 Back-to-school season brings changing routines, new exposures, and added demands on the whole family. Support your family’s health this season with Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine’s Back-to-School 2026 resources.

Back-to-School 2026:

https://richmondfunctionalmedicine.com/lp/back-to-school-2026/

In this Made for Health minisode, Dr. Aaron Hartman continues exploring the question at the center of this series: Why are you still sick? Why does your body seem stuck even after addressing so many other pieces?

This time, he turns to something that connects nearly every structure in the body but often receives far less attention: fascia and connective tissue.

Dr. Hartman explains that fascia helps support organs, tissues, joints, nerves, and other structures throughout the body. For people with hypermobility, those tissues may be more lax or stretchy, which he believes can influence everything from joint stability and pain to nervous-system activation and complex chronic illness. Pasted text

And hypermobility doesn't always mean someone can still perform obvious “double-jointed” tricks. Dr. Hartman explains that people who were very flexible when younger may become increasingly tight and painful as they age because the surrounding fascia can stiffen and develop areas of restriction—even while certain joints remain hypermobile. Pasted text

Key Topics Covered

Why fascia and connective tissue may be an overlooked part of chronic illnessWhat hypermobility actually meansWhy hypermobility is more than being “double-jointed”The relationship between fascia and the nervous systemWhy loose connective tissue may increase sensory input to the brainHypermobility as both a potential strength and vulnerabilityWhy hypermobile people may become tighter with ageFascia, pain, and nervous-system activationEhlers-Danlos syndrome versus the broader hypermobility spectrumThe Pentad Super Syndrome discussed by Dr. HartmanHypermobility and Mast Cell Activation SyndromeHypermobility and POTS/dysautonomiaGastrointestinal issues and connective tissueAutoimmune conditions and hypermobilityAssociations with ADHD, autism, OCD, and other neuropsychiatric conditions discussed in the episodeBruising, bleeding, joint instability, and sports injuriesNutrition and connective-tissue repairProtein and collagenVitamin C and collagen productionTrace minerals and connective-tissue healthBone broth, organ meats, and mineral-rich foodsWhy childhood flexibility history may matter in adultsThe Beighton score as a screening tool

In This Episode, You Will Learn

✅ Why connective tissue may deserve more attention when chronic symptoms aren't improving

✅ Why hypermobility affects more than just joints

✅ How Dr. Hartman connects fascia with sensory signaling and nervous-system activation

✅ Why someone can be hypermobile and still feel extremely stiff as an adult

✅ How hypermobility may overlap with POTS, dysautonomia, mast-cell activation, gastrointestinal problems, and autoimmune issues

✅ Why childhood flexibility can provide important clues even if you are no longer flexible today

✅ Why hypermobile athletes may sometimes experience repeated injuries despite being strong and highly trained

✅ Why Dr. Hartman pays particular attention to protein, collagen, vitamin C, and mineral status in hypermobile patients

✅ How the Beighton score can help identify physical signs associated with hypermobility

Resources & Links:

🌐 Dr. Aaron Hartman – Richmond Functional Medicine: richmondfunctionalmedicine.com

🌐 LinkedIn – Dr. Aaron Hartman: Connect Here

📺 YouTube – Richmond Functional Medicine: Watch Here

🎒 Back-to-School 2026: Back-to-School Bundle

Mentioned in this episode:

25% Off Back to School Support for Parents

Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale

Back to School Support for Parents

25% Off Back to School Support for Parents

Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale

Back to School Support for Parents

🎒 Back-to-school season brings new routines, new exposures, and new challenges for the whole family. Support your family this school year with targeted nutritional support designed with whole-person health in mind. Get 25% Off the Back-to-School Bundle

In this episode of Made for Health, Dr. Aaron Hartman sits down with Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge, a leading psychologist, author, and educator, to discuss how parents and teachers can better support neurodivergent children.

They explore the challenges these kids often face in traditional education systems—and why character, curiosity, and passion can matter more than grades. Dr. Capanna-Hodge highlights the value of hands-on learning, vocational training, and individualized education plans (IEPs) for fostering success.

With warmth and expertise, she offers practical strategies for helping children regulate emotions, build resilience, and thrive despite stigma or misunderstanding. Through personal stories and evidence-based insights, this conversation encourages a shift toward inclusive, flexible, and strength-based approaches to learning.

✅ Show Highlights:Why traditional education can overlook neurodivergent kids’ strengthsThe role of character, curiosity, and passion in lifelong successHow vocational and hands-on learning opens doors for all learnersPractical emotional regulation strategies for childrenThe importance of early intervention and individualized education plans (IEPs)How stigma affects children’s confidence and opportunitiesBuilding inclusive environments at home and school
🎯 Some Questions We Explore:How can parents advocate for their neurodivergent child in school?What educational changes make the biggest difference for these students?How do emotional regulation skills support academic and social success?Why should we value vocational skills and creativity as much as grades?What can be done to reduce stigma in educational settings?
💡 In This Episode, You Will Learn:How to recognize and nurture a neurodivergent child’s unique strengthsActionable strategies to support focus, learning, and emotional well-beingWhy flexibility in teaching benefits all students—not just those with diagnosesHow to partner with schools to create effective IEPs and supportsResources to help parents and educators stay informed and empowered
🌐 Resources & Links:Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge – Official Website: drroseann.comDr. Aaron Hartman – Richmond Functional Medicine: richmondfunctionalmedicine.comYouTube – Richmond Functional Medicine: Watch HereLinkedIn – Dr. Aaron Hartman: Connect Here
🎧 Closing Call to Action:

👉 Whether you’re a parent, teacher, or advocate, this episode will help you see and support neurodivergent children in a new light. Subscribe to Made for Health and share this episode to spread awareness and foster more inclusive communities.

Mentioned in this episode:

25% Off Back to School Support for Parents

Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale

Back to School Support for Parents

25% Off Back to School Support for Parents

Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale

Back to School Support for Parents

🎒 Back-to-school season brings changing routines, new exposures, and added demands on the whole family. Support your family’s health this season with Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine’s Back-to-School 2026 resources.

Back-to-School 2026:

https://richmondfunctionalmedicine.com/lp/back-to-school-2026/

In this Made for Health minisode, Dr. Aaron Hartman continues his series exploring one central question: Why are you still sick?

Maybe you've gone from provider to provider. You've received pieces of the answer, tried different treatments, and improved somewhat—but your body still feels stuck.

One condition Dr. Hartman believes can sometimes sit underneath that complicated picture is Mast Cell Activation Syndrome, or MCAS.

Mast cells are part of the immune system and are found throughout the body, including tissues associated with the skin, gastrointestinal tract, bladder, blood vessels, and nerves. Because of that widespread distribution, mast-cell activation can potentially produce symptoms across multiple systems rather than creating one simple or predictable symptom pattern.

Dr. Hartman discusses symptoms such as rashes, hives, food and chemical sensitivities, reactions to supplements, heart palpitations, gastrointestinal problems, brain fog, and fatigue. He also explains why MCAS can overlap with conditions such as mold illness, Lyme disease, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, nervous-system dysregulation, and other complex chronic health problems.

Key Topics Covered

Why Mast Cell Activation Syndrome may be overlookedHow mast cells interact with the immune systemSkin symptoms, hives, and rashesFood, chemical, fragrance, and supplement sensitivitiesPalpitations and rapid heart rateDiarrhea, constipation, and gastrointestinal symptomsBrain fog and chronic fatigueWhy MCAS can resemble many other chronic illnessesMast cells and neurological symptomsInterstitial cystitis and other less obvious presentationsThe overlap between MCAS, Lyme disease, and mold exposureWhy some highly sensitive patients may need mast cells stabilized firstChallenges surrounding laboratory testing for mast-cell mediatorsHistamine, prostaglandin D2, and tryptase testing discussed in the episodeWhy sample handling may influence test resultsClinical criteria and treatment-response trialsIdentifying the trigger behind mast-cell activationStress and nervous-system activationFood and environmental chemical triggersMold and Lyme diseaseSIBO and gastrointestinal triggersHormonal shifts, menstrual cycles, and menopauseConcussion, infections, travel-related illness, COVID, and other possible triggering eventsWhy understanding when symptoms began can provide important clues

In This Episode, You Will Learn

✅ Why Mast Cell Activation Syndrome can produce symptoms throughout multiple body systems

✅ Why someone with MCAS may become unusually reactive to foods, chemicals, fragrances, or supplements

✅ How mast-cell activation may overlap with Lyme disease, mold exposure, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, and nervous-system symptoms

✅ Why laboratory testing for mast-cell mediators can sometimes be difficult

✅ Why Dr. Hartman also relies on clinical history, symptom patterns, and response to treatment when evaluating suspected mast-cell activation

✅ Why calming mast-cell symptoms may sometimes need to happen before aggressively addressing mold, Lyme, or another underlying trigger

✅ Why improving symptoms is not necessarily the same as identifying the root cause

✅ How stress, infections, environmental exposure, gut dysfunction, and hormonal changes may potentially trigger mast-cell activation

✅ Why asking “When did this begin?” can be one of the most useful questions in a complicated chronic illness case

Follow Dr. Aaron Hartman and Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine

🌐 Website: https://richmondfunctionalmedicine.com/

🎒 Back-to-School 2026: Back-to-School Bundle

📺 YouTube: @AaronHartmanMD

Mentioned in this episode:

25% Off Back to School Support for Parents

Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale

Back to School Support for Parents

25% Off Back to School Support for Parents

Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale

Back to School Support for Parents

🎒 Back-to-school season brings new routines, new exposures, and new challenges for the whole family. Support your family this school year with targeted nutritional support designed with whole-person health in mind. Get 25% Off the Back-to-School Bundle

In this episode of Made for Health, Dr. Aaron Hartman welcomes back Dr. Neil Nathan, a pioneer in integrative and functional medicine with more than five decades of medical experience. Dr. Nathan has spent much of his career working with the patients other practitioners struggled to understand—people living with complex chronic illness, mold toxicity, Lyme disease, multiple chemical sensitivities, chronic fatigue, and increasingly reactive nervous and immune systems.

Their conversation centers on a question that both physicians encounter regularly: Why do some patients improve to a certain point and then stop getting better?

For Dr. Nathan, the answer often requires looking beyond a single diagnosis or treatment protocol. A patient may have already addressed mold, Lyme disease, gut health, autoimmune issues, or nutritional deficiencies and still feel stuck. At that point, he believes healing may require exploring the neurological, emotional, energetic, and spiritual dimensions of illness alongside the physical ones.

The discussion also dives into the growing population of highly sensitive patients—people who may react to light, sound, touch, fragrances, foods, supplements, medications, or electromagnetic exposures. Dr. Nathan explains why these reactions should not simply be dismissed as psychological and explores how the limbic system, vagal system, immune system, and mast cells can become interconnected in chronic illness.

Key Topics CoveredWhy complex chronic illness appears increasingly difficult to treatWhat Dr. Nathan means by a “sensitive patient”Sensitivity to light, sound, touch, fragrances, foods, supplements, and environmental exposuresMold toxicity and Lyme disease in complex chronic illnessEnvironmental chemicals and the cumulative burden of exposureDr. Nathan’s clinical perspective on electromagnetic field sensitivityWhy some patients improve 50–60% and then become stuckEmotional, energetic, spiritual, and physical blockages to healingTrauma and neurological hypervigilanceBig-T trauma versus accumulated smaller stressorsThe limbic system and the brain’s threat-detection responseVagal dysfunction and autonomic nervous system symptomsPOTS, gastrointestinal symptoms, palpitations, and dysautonomiaMast Cell Activation SyndromeThe connection between the nervous and immune systemsMold, mast cells, and hypermobilityCranio-cervical instability and the “spiky-leaky” concept discussed in the episodeThiamine deficiency and mitochondrial functionVitamin B1 and autonomic nervous-system healthOxalates as a potential source of inflammationWhy dietary changes sometimes need to happen graduallySSRI and benzodiazepine withdrawal in sensitive patientsWhy medication tapering needs to be individualized and medically supervisedWhy Dr. Nathan refuses to use a one-size-fits-all mold-treatment algorithmThe importance of truly personalized medicine
In This Episode, You Will Learn

✅ Why Dr. Nathan believes some of today’s chronic illness patients are becoming increasingly sensitive and complex

✅ What distinguishes a sensitive patient from someone dealing with a single isolated condition

✅ Why mold, Lyme disease, environmental exposures, and immune dysfunction may overlap rather than exist as completely separate problems

✅ How trauma and chronic stress can contribute to a nervous system that remains hypervigilant long after the original stressor has passed

✅ Why the limbic system, vagal system, and mast cells may need to be addressed together in highly sensitive patients

✅ How autonomic dysfunction can contribute to symptoms involving digestion, heart rate, blood pressure, fatigue, and other body systems

✅ Why neurological sensitivity is different from simply labeling symptoms as psychological

✅ Why thiamine may deserve consideration when mitochondrial and autonomic function are impaired

✅ How oxalates can become another source of irritation and inflammation for certain individuals

✅ Why suddenly making major dietary changes may sometimes worsen symptoms in highly sensitive patients

✅ Why antidepressants and benzodiazepines should not be abruptly discontinued and why tapering needs to be individualized with the prescribing clinician

✅ Why the most sensitive patients often require treatment to move slower, not faster

Resources & Links:

🌐 Dr. Aaron Hartman – Richmond Functional Medicine: richmondfunctionalmedicine.com

🌐 LinkedIn – Dr. Aaron Hartman: Connect Here

📺 YouTube – Richmond Functional Medicine: Watch Here

🎒 Back-to-School 2026: Back-to-School Bundle

Mentioned in this episode:

25% Off Back to School Support for Parents

Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale

Back to School Support for Parents

25% Off Back to School Support for Parents

Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale

Back to School Support for Parents

🎒 Back-to-school season brings changing routines, new exposures, and added demands on the whole family. Support your family’s health this season with Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine’s Back-to-School 2026 resources.

Back-to-School 2026:

https://richmondfunctionalmedicine.com/lp/back-to-school-2026/

In this Made for Health minisode, Dr. Aaron Hartman continues his series exploring an important question: Why are you still sick? Why does your body seem stuck even after you’ve tried so many things?

This time, he turns his attention to Lyme disease—an infection that can present in different ways and may sometimes enter the differential diagnosis when people are dealing with persistent fatigue, body pain, migrating joint or muscle symptoms, neurological complaints, or other unexplained problems.

Dr. Hartman shares examples from his clinical experience, including patients with symptoms such as chronic fatigue, widespread pain, Bell’s palsy, sciatica, and foot drop. His broader message is that when a patient’s symptoms do not fit neatly into the expected picture, clinicians may need to take another look at the history, exposure risk, symptom pattern, and appropriate testing rather than relying on one isolated result.

He also discusses the challenges surrounding Lyme disease testing, including antibody testing, Western blot testing, immunoblot testing, and symptom-based clinical evaluation. Current CDC guidance recommends a two-step, FDA-cleared serologic testing process and notes that antibody tests can be falsely negative during the first several weeks after infection. IDSA guidelines also recognize that a classic erythema migrans rash can be diagnosed clinically without laboratory testing.

Key Topics Covered

Why Lyme disease may be considered when someone remains chronically unwellPersistent fatigue, body aches, and migrating painNeurological presentations discussed in the episodeLyme disease and Bell’s palsyDr. Hartman’s clinical experiences with unusual symptom patternsWhy timing matters with Lyme antibody testingStandard two-tier Lyme disease testingWestern blot and immunoblot testingThe limits of relying on a single laboratory resultThe importance of symptoms, history, and possible tick exposureDr. Hartman’s approach when clinical suspicion remains highThe MSIDS questionnaire discussed in the episodeWhy chronic illness may involve more than one contributing factorWhen a deeper evaluation may be appropriateContinuing the search for overlooked contributors when someone feels “stuck”

In This Episode, You Will Learn

✅ Why Dr. Hartman considers Lyme disease in some patients with persistent or unusual symptoms

✅ Why Lyme disease does not always present in exactly the same way

✅ How symptoms such as fatigue, migrating pain, and certain neurological complaints may prompt further evaluation

✅ Why the timing of antibody testing can affect results

✅ How standard Lyme testing generally uses a two-step serologic process

✅ Why Dr. Hartman emphasizes looking at the whole clinical picture, rather than interpreting one test result in isolation

✅ How he approaches situations in which symptoms and previous testing appear not to match

✅ Why finding Lyme disease does not necessarily mean it is the only factor affecting a person’s recovery

Follow Dr. Aaron Hartman and Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine

🌐 Website: https://richmondfunctionalmedicine.com/

🎒 Back-to-School 2026: Back-to-School Bundle

📺 YouTube: @AaronHartmanMD

Mentioned in this episode:

25% Off Back to School Support for Parents

Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale

Back to School Support for Parents

25% Off Back to School Support for Parents

Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale

Back to School Support for Parents

🎒 Back-to-school season can bring changing routines, increased stress, new exposures, and added demands on the whole family. Support your family’s health this season with Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine’s Back-to-School 2026 resources.

Back-to-School 2026:

https://richmondfunctionalmedicine.com/lp/back-to-school-2026/

In this episode of Made for Health, Dr. Aaron Hartman welcomes back Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge, a leading expert in emotional and behavioral dysregulation with more than 30 years of experience helping children and families. Their conversation explores what happens when the nervous system becomes chronically overwhelmed—and why addressing behavior alone may miss what is actually driving a child’s struggles.

Dr. Roseann explains dysregulation as difficulty moving effectively between states of stress and calm. When the nervous system’s “stress cup” keeps filling without enough opportunities to release that stress, children and adults can remain chronically activated. That activation may show up through anxiety, emotional outbursts, attention difficulties, shutdowns, impulsivity, sleep problems, or other physical and mental health challenges.

Dr. Hartman and Dr. Roseann also take a close look at screen time and device dysregulation. Rather than framing technology as inherently bad, Dr. Roseann emphasizes the importance of boundaries, especially because children can have difficulty disengaging once they are deeply absorbed in stimulating digital content.

The conversation then moves into the heart of Dr. Roseann’s work: helping families regulate the nervous system first. Nutrition, gut health, magnesium, neurofeedback, PEMF, and other tools may all have a role, but she stresses that lasting change also requires consistent daily practices that help reduce nervous-system activation and create greater capacity for stress.

Key Topics Covered

What emotional and nervous-system dysregulation can look like in childrenWhy people can appear highly functional while living in chronic fight, flight, or freezeThe “stress cup” and why accumulated stress mattersADHD, anxiety, OCD, PANS/PANDAS, sensory challenges, and dysregulationDevice dysregulation and screen-time boundariesWhy smartphones and short-form content can be difficult for children to disengage fromWhy simply removing one physical stressor may not fully regulate the nervous systemNutrition, magnesium, gut health, mold, and nervous-system supportBig-T trauma, little-t trauma, and chronic everyday stressSympathetic nervous-system activationWhy consistency matters more than searching for one “magic” interventionBreathwork, somatic exercises, Tai Chi, prayer, art, and other daily regulation practicesNeurofeedback, PEMF, and brain-based toolsPolyvagal theory and vagus-nerve regulationWhy parents need to regulate themselves before helping a dysregulated childCo-dysregulation versus co-regulationGenerational patterns and emotional regulation within familiesThe CALMS Dysregulation Protocol®Regulation First Parenting®Dr. Roseann’s book, The Dysregulated Kid

In This Episode, You Will Learn

✅ Why dysregulation is about the nervous system’s ability to move between stress and calm

✅ Why chronic stress can affect the nervous system even when there has not been one major traumatic event

✅ Why correcting behavior may be ineffective when a child is already highly dysregulated

✅ How technology and device use can add another layer of stimulation for children

✅ Why supplements or advanced therapies alone may not replace daily nervous-system regulation

✅ How simple practices such as breathwork, movement, art, prayer, Tai Chi, and somatic exercises can become part of a daily regulation routine

✅ Why parents’ nervous systems influence their children through verbal and nonverbal cues

✅ How families can shift from co-dysregulation to co-regulation

✅ Why Dr. Roseann believes parents need to stop personalizing a child’s dysregulated behavior

✅ How the CALMS Dysregulation Protocol® gives families a practical framework for responding differently

Follow Dr. Aaron Hartman and Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine

🌐 Website: https://richmondfunctionalmedicine.com/

🎒 Back-to-School 2026: Back-to-School Bundle

📺 YouTube: @AaronHartmanMD

Mentioned in this episode:

25% Off Back to School Support for Parents

Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale

Back to School Support for Parents

25% Off Back to School Support for Parents

Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale

Back to School Support for Parents

🎒 Back-to-school season brings changing routines, new exposures, and added demands on the whole family. Support your family’s health this season with Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine’s Back-to-School 2026 offer.

Back-to-School 2026:

https://richmondfunctionalmedicine.com/lp/back-to-school-2026/

In this Made for Health minisode, Dr. Aaron Hartman continues exploring a question he hears frequently from patients: Why am I still sick? Why am I not getting better? What has been overlooked?

Sometimes you've seen multiple doctors, received diagnoses, tried medications, completed specialized testing, and even worked with functional medicine practitioners, yet your recovery eventually reaches a plateau.

According to Dr. Hartman, one potential piece worth investigating is mold exposure.

He explains that mold and other biotoxins can interact with the immune system in complicated ways. One aspect of this is Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS), which Dr. Hartman describes in relation to activation of the innate immune system by biotoxins. He also discusses direct toxin exposure and how mold-related problems may intersect with autoimmune and inflammatory conditions.

The challenge is that mold exposure can be easy to dismiss precisely because it is so common. A water-damaged environment or mold around an HVAC system may look “normal” to someone who sees it every day, but Dr. Hartman argues that common does not necessarily mean harmless for every individual.

Key Topics Covered

Why mold may be overlooked when chronic illness isn't improvingMold exposure and Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS)What Dr. Hartman means by the biotoxin pathwayInnate versus adaptive immune responsesDirect toxicity from mold and mycotoxinsMold and chronic inflammationPotential connections with autoimmune and autoinflammatory conditionsWater-damaged buildings and environmental exposureWhy common mold exposure can be easy to dismissMold in HVAC systems and indoor environmentsHLA-DR/DQ genetics and susceptibilityWhy some people may have more difficulty handling biotoxinsMold exposure versus immune-system dysregulationUrine testing for mold toxinsEvaluating the building as well as the individualMold as a possible complicating factor in chronic Lyme diseaseDr. Hartman's clinical example involving Lyme disease, hypermobility, and POTSBinders, phosphatidylcholine, environmental changes, and gut support discussed in his clinical approachWhy foundational health still matters when dealing with environmental exposuresRIFM's Healthy Building Guide and mold resources

In This Episode, You Will Learn

✅ Why Dr. Hartman considers mold when someone with a complex chronic illness stops progressing

✅ How he distinguishes mold exposure, direct toxin effects, and CIRS

✅ Why a water-damaged building may affect different people differently

✅ How Dr. Hartman describes the role of HLA-DR/DQ genetics in the body's ability to handle biotoxins

✅ Why simply finding mold-related toxins doesn't necessarily tell you whether your innate immune system is dysregulated

✅ Why evaluating your home or workplace environment can be an important part of investigating possible mold exposure

✅ How mold may complicate conditions such as chronic Lyme disease, autoimmune disease, mast cell activation syndrome, long COVID, and other complex health problems

✅ Why Dr. Hartman continues emphasizing nutrition, gut health, detoxification, and other foundations even when addressing mold

Follow Dr. Aaron Hartman and Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine

🌐 Website: https://richmondfunctionalmedicine.com/

🎒 Back-to-School 2026: Back-to-School Bundle

📺 YouTube: @AaronHartmanMD

Mentioned in this episode:

25% Off Back to School Support for Parents

Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale

Back to School Support for Parents

25% Off Back to School Support for Parents

Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale

Back to School Support for Parents

🎒 Back-to-school season brings new routines, new exposures, and new challenges for the whole family. Support your family this school year with targeted nutritional support designed with whole-person health in mind. Get 25% Off the Back-to-School Bundle

In this episode of Made for Health, Dr. Aaron Hartman, MD, and Dr. Jenski, MD, explore Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS) and the biotoxin pathway. They break down how exposure to biotoxins from mold, water-damaged environments, and chemicals can trigger complex immune responses, and how genetic factors such as HLA gene mutations may influence the way certain individuals respond to these exposures.

The conversation examines the connection between biotoxins, chronic inflammation, detoxification, and seemingly interconnected health problems. Dr. Hartman and Dr. Jenski explain why CIRS can be complex to identify and manage and why treatment needs to be personalized rather than approached with a one-size-fits-all protocol.

They also discuss strategies used to support the body during treatment, including omega-3 fatty acids and curcumin, while emphasizing the importance of addressing CIRS through a thoughtful, step-by-step process. This episode provides listeners with a clearer understanding of the biotoxin pathway, why chronic inflammation can persist, and how a structured approach can help guide CIRS treatment.

Resources & Links:

🌐 Dr. Aaron Hartman – Richmond Functional Medicine: richmondfunctionalmedicine.com

🌐 LinkedIn – Dr. Aaron Hartman: Connect Here

📺 YouTube – Richmond Functional Medicine: Watch Here

🎒 Back-to-School 2026: Back-to-School Bundle

Mentioned in this episode:

25% Off Back to School Support for Parents

Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale

Back to School Support for Parents

25% Off Back to School Support for Parents

Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale

Back to School Support for Parents

🎒 Back-to-school season brings changing routines, new exposures, and added demands on the whole family. Support your family’s health this season with Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine’s Back-to-School 2026 offer.

Back-to-School 2026:

https://richmondfunctionalmedicine.com/lp/back-to-school-2026/

In this episode of Made for Health, Dr. Aaron Hartman continues his series exploring a question he hears constantly from people dealing with chronic and complex health problems: Why am I still not getting better?

You may have seen the specialists, received the diagnoses, taken the medications, completed advanced testing, or worked with integrative and functional medicine providers. Maybe you've made it 50% of the way—but something still feels missing.

Dr. Hartman introduces the Hierarchy of Healing, a concept he says has existed within naturopathic medicine for more than a century. Rather than beginning with the newest test, supplement, or advanced treatment, this framework asks whether you've created the conditions your body needs to heal in the first place.

That includes your physical environment, nervous system, connection with nature, food and water, and something medicine doesn't always know how to measure: meaning and purpose.

Key Topics Covered

Why some people improve but eventually become stuck in their healing journeyThe Hierarchy of Healing in naturopathic medicineDr. Hartman's Triangle of HealthCreating an environment that supports healingWhy feeling safe matters to the nervous systemTrauma, chaos, and nervous-system dysregulationThe relationship between mind, body, and healingConnecting with nature and natural rhythmsSeasonal changes in food and lifestyleThe microbiome, polyphenols, mitochondria, and the environmentNourishing the body with real food and clean waterGiving the body what it needs rather than only trying to remove what's wrongWhy meaning and purpose belong in a conversation about healthThe biopsychosocial model of healingWhy foundational principles still matter in complex chronic illnessTurning health information into meaningful action

In This Episode, You Will Learn

✅ What Dr. Hartman means by the Hierarchy of Healing

✅ Why the environment surrounding you can become part of your healing process

✅ Why nervous-system safety may matter when your body seems unable to move forward

✅ How natural and seasonal rhythms fit into Dr. Hartman's framework for health

✅ Why nourishment involves more than simply avoiding unhealthy foods

✅ How Dr. Hartman connects the microbiome, polyphenols, mitochondria, and environmental influences

✅ Why meaning, purpose, relationships, vocation, and creativity can be important pieces of a healing journey

✅ Why getting better shouldn't be viewed only through medications, testing, supplements, or procedures

✅ Why Dr. Hartman continues returning to foundational principles even when working with people experiencing significant chronic illness

Follow Dr. Aaron Hartman and Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine

🌐 Website: https://richmondfunctionalmedicine.com/

🎒 Back-to-School 2026: Back-to-School Bundle

📺 YouTube: @AaronHartmanMD

Mentioned in this episode:

25% Off Back to School Support for Parents

Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale

Back to School Support for Parents

25% Off Back to School Support for Parents

Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale

Back to School Support for Parents

🎒 Back-to-school season brings new routines, new exposures, and new challenges for the whole family. Support your family this school year with targeted nutritional support designed with whole-person health in mind. Get 25% Off the Back-to-School Bundle

In this episode of Made for Health, Dr. Aaron Hartman is joined by internationally renowned Lyme disease expert Dr. Richard Horowitz, who shares insights from his 35+ years of experience treating over 13,000 patients with chronic Lyme disease and complex chronic illnesses.

Dr. Horowitz unpacks the 16-point treatment model he developed to address the multifactorial nature of chronic disease—including infections, inflammation, environmental toxins, mitochondrial dysfunction, and immune dysregulation. He explores how chronic Lyme overlaps with long COVID, mold illness, and autoimmune conditions, and emphasizes the importance of personalized, root-cause approaches to healing.

This eye-opening episode also addresses the medical and political challenges faced by Lyme patients and practitioners, the need for systemic change, and how advocacy and collaboration can help reshape the future of chronic care.

Show Highlights:

✅ What makes chronic Lyme disease so difficult to diagnose and treat

✅ Dr. Horowitz’s 16-point model and why it’s transforming chronic illness care

✅ The intersection of Lyme, long COVID, and other systemic health conditions

✅ How toxins, infections, and inflammation fuel long-term illness

✅ The political and institutional barriers to better care and research

✅ Real-world patient stories that highlight hope and healing

✅ Where patients and practitioners can access further education and support

Some Questions We Explore:

✅ Why are so many patients misdiagnosed—or not diagnosed at all?

✅ How can chronic Lyme mimic other diseases like fibromyalgia or MS?

✅ What’s the role of mitochondrial health and detoxification in recovery?

✅ How do we move from symptom management to root-cause resolution?

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

✅ What a truly integrative, systems-based approach to chronic illness looks like

✅ How to use Dr. Horowitz’s model to guide testing, diagnosis, and treatment

✅ Why collaboration between conventional and functional medicine is crucial

✅ How to advocate for better awareness, resources, and policy change

Resources & Links:

🌐 Dr. Richard Horowitz – Official Website: cangetbetter.com

📘 Book – Why Can’t I Get Better? by Dr. Richard Horowitz

📘 Book – How Can I Get Better? by Dr. Richard Horowitz

🌐 Dr. Aaron Hartman – Richmond Functional Medicine: richmondfunctionalmedicine.com

🌐 LinkedIn – Dr. Aaron Hartman: Connect Here

📺 YouTube – Richmond Functional Medicine: Watch Here

🎒 Back-to-School 2026: Back-to-School Bundle

Mentioned in this episode:

25% Off Back to School Support for Parents

Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale

Back to School Support for Parents

25% Off Back to School Support for Parents

Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale

Back to School Support for Parents

🎒 Back-to-school season puts extra demands on the whole family. Support your health this fall with physician-vetted, foundational supplements from Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine. Get 25% off Back-to-School Support while the seasonal offer lasts.

https://richmondfunctionalmedicine.com/lp/back-to-school-2026/

In this episode of Made for Health, Dr. Aaron Hartman begins a new series with a question he hears almost every day: “Why am I not getting better?”

You may be doing everything you think you’re supposed to do. You’ve seen doctors and specialists. You’ve changed your diet, tried supplements, addressed your diagnosis, and worked hard on your health. Maybe you’ve improved 20%, 40%, or even 60%—but then something happens. Progress stops, symptoms linger, and you feel stuck.

Before jumping to more complicated possibilities like mold, Lyme disease, mast cell issues, hormones, or advanced testing, Dr. Hartman argues that it’s worth returning to the foundations. In his clinical experience, three of the most commonly overlooked areas are gut health, stress, and sleep.

He explores how nutrition, the microbiome, food reactivity, detoxification, stress and trauma, nervous-system regulation, and restorative sleep can influence the healing process. The goal isn't simply to chase the newest health trend. It's to identify what may be blocking progress, address what's lacking, and build a stronger foundation for healing.

Key Topics Covered

Why people can make significant progress and then suddenly get stuckThe danger of chasing the newest health trend or treatmentWhy foundational health still matters in complex chronic illnessGut health and the microbiomeReal food versus highly processed foodFood sensitivities and immune reactivityProtein, minerals, and nutrition in detoxificationPrebiotics, probiotics, postbiotics, polyphenols, and fiberChronic stress and its impact on healingHealth-related and healthcare-related stressTrauma and nervous-system dysregulationEMDR, tapping, somatic therapy, and parts therapyThe default mode network and established brain patternsWhy sleep is essential for repair and recoveryDeep sleep, REM sleep, memory, and nervous-system regulationWhy the basics should come before more complex interventions

Follow Dr. Aaron Hartman and Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine

🌐 Website: https://richmondfunctionalmedicine.com/

🎒 Back-to-School 2026: Back-to-School Bundle

📺 YouTube: @AaronHartmanMD

Mentioned in this episode:

25% Off Back to School Support for Parents

Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale

Back to School Support for Parents

25% Off Back to School Support for Parents

Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale

Back to School Support for Parents

🎒 Back-to-school season brings new routines, new exposures, and new challenges for the whole family. Support your family this school year with targeted nutritional support designed with whole-person health in mind. Get 25% Off the Back-to-School Bundle

In this episode of Made for Health, Dr. Aaron Hartman welcomes Dr. Jill Carnahan, a leading expert in functional and integrative medicine, for a powerful conversation about resilience, healing, and the root causes of chronic illness.

Dr. Carnahan shares her deeply personal story—surviving breast cancer at 25, living with Crohn’s disease, and overcoming debilitating mold toxicity. These challenges became the catalyst for her shift from conventional to holistic, patient-centered care. Together, she and Dr. Hartman explore the connection between trauma, toxic exposures, belief systems, and spiritual healing in the path to true wellness.

This is more than a medical discussion—it’s an invitation to reclaim your health through compassionate, root-cause medicine that honors both science and soul.

✅ Show Highlights:Dr. Carnahan’s journey through cancer, autoimmune disease, and mold illnessWhy trauma and belief systems play a critical role in recoveryHow conventional medicine often overlooks root causesThe role of diet, detoxification, and the environment in healingHer shift from protocols to personalized, whole-person careThe impact of spirituality and mindset in chronic illness recoveryInsights from her new book and documentary
🎯 Some Questions We Explore:How did Dr. Carnahan’s personal health battles shape her medical philosophy?What’s the connection between trauma, the immune system, and chronic disease?Why are environmental toxins often missed in conventional care?How can spiritual practices aid physical recovery?
💡 In This Episode, You Will Learn:The importance of addressing trauma in healing complex illnessWhy belief, choice, and action are cornerstones of recoveryFunctional medicine tools for detox, gut healing, and immune regulationHow to become an empowered advocate for your own healthWhere to start if you feel dismissed or overlooked in traditional healthcare
🌐 Resources & Links:Dr. Jill Carnahan – Official Website: https://www.jillcarnahan.comBook – Unexpected: Finding Resilience through Functional Medicine, Science, and Faith: Buy Here

Follow Dr. Aaron Hartman and Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine

🌐 Website: https://richmondfunctionalmedicine.com/

🎒 Back-to-School 2026: Back-to-School Bundle

📺 YouTube: @AaronHartmanMD

Mentioned in this episode:

Get Dr. Hartman's New Book - UnCURABLE

If you’ve been let down by the system, you’re not alone — and you’re not powerless. Dr. Hartmans wrote UnCURABLE to help you take back control of your health and your hope. Visit the link below ⬇️ to get your copy and start your transformation today.

Get the new book UnCURABLE

25% Off Back to School Support for Parents

Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale

Back to School Support for Parents

25% Off Back to School Support for Parents

Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale

Back to School Support for Parents

🎒 Back-to-school season brings new routines, new exposures, and new challenges for the whole family. Support your family this school year with targeted nutritional support designed with whole-person health in mind. Get 25% Off the Back-to-School Bundle

In this episode of Made for Health, Dr. Aaron Hartman sits down with Dr. James T. Leathem, DO, a board-certified anesthesiologist and psychedelic integration coach, to explore ketamine therapy, psychedelic medicine, and a different way of thinking about mental health. Dr. Leathem shares his unconventional path from business to medicine, how a near-death experience helped redirect his life, and how his background in anesthesia eventually led him into ketamine-assisted care. The conversation focuses on depression, PTSD, trauma, chronic pain, neuroplasticity, and the importance of pairing the medicine with meaningful integration work.

Dr. Leathem explains that ketamine is a dissociative anesthetic used at sub-anesthetic doses in this setting. He describes how ketamine interacts with the glutamate system through NMDA receptor blockade, which can influence AMPA signaling and brain-derived neurotrophic factor, or BDNF. He connects these mechanisms to synaptic plasticity, dendritic spine formation, and a period of increased neuroplasticity that may create an opportunity for new patterns and behaviors.

But for Dr. Leathem, the medicine itself is only part of the process. He emphasizes preparation, intention, integration coaching, mindfulness, journaling, sleep, and daily practices after treatment. His analogy is simple: ketamine may help put out the fire in your "mental health house," but it cannot rebuild the house for you. That rebuilding requires active participation after someone becomes unstuck.

The conversation also expands into the default mode network, spiritual experiences, stellate ganglion blocks, autonomic dysregulation, traumatic brain injury, and the wider landscape of psychedelic medicine. Throughout the episode, Dr. Leathem emphasizes individualized treatment rather than a cookie-cutter approach.

Key Topics Covered

Dr. James Leathem's unconventional journey into medicineHow anesthesiology led him toward ketamine and psychedelic medicineKetamine therapy for depression, PTSD, trauma, and chronic painThe difference between anesthetic and sub-anesthetic ketamineWhy Dr. Leathem prefers an individualized approach to ketamine therapyIV ketamine and different routes of administrationWhy the ketamine experience is only one part of the healing processPreparation, intention, and psychedelic integrationThe neuroplasticity window following ketamine treatmentNMDA receptors, glutamate, and AMPA signalingBrain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)Dendritic spine formation and neural circuitryWhy mental health may involve more than the traditional neurotransmitter modelKetamine and the default mode networkPsychedelic experiences and shifts in perspectiveThe role of daily habits after ketamine therapyMindfulness, journaling, sleep, and metacognitionStellate ganglion blocks and autonomic nervous system regulationKetamine in patients with complex chronic illnessDr. Leathem's clinical experience with traumatic brain injuryClassic versus non-classic psychedelicsPsilocybin, LSD, DMT, mescaline, MDMA, and other psychedelic medicinesWhy psychedelic treatment requires attention to preparation, setting, and integrationTurning trauma and suffering into growth and personal evolution

In This Episode, You Will Learn

✅ How Dr. Leathem went from anesthesiology to ketamine and psychedelic medicine

✅ How ketamine works differently from conventional approaches focused primarily on serotonin and other monoamine neurotransmitters

✅ Why NMDA receptors, glutamate, BDNF, and neuroplasticity are central to the conversation about ketamine

✅ Why Dr. Leathem believes the period after a ketamine experience can be as important as the infusion itself

✅ How preparation, intention, integration coaching, and daily practices can help patients work with the changes that follow treatment

✅ Why ketamine may help someone become "unstuck," while long-term rebuilding still requires active participation

✅ How the default mode network may relate to ego, thought patterns, and psychedelic experiences

✅ How ketamine and stellate ganglion blocks are being combined in Dr. Leathem's practice when addressing certain patterns of autonomic dysregulation

✅ How ketamine fits into the much broader and evolving field of psychedelic medicine

About Dr. James T. Leathem, DO

Dr. James T. Leathem is a board-certified anesthesiologist, Certified Psychedelic Integration Coach, and co-founder of Gilbert Chandler Ketamine Therapy Clinic and Scottsdale Ketamine Therapy Clinic. His background in anesthesia provided the foundation for his work with ketamine and altered states of consciousness.

After beginning his career in business and marketing, a series of deeply personal experiences led him toward medicine. He went on to earn his Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine and build a career in anesthesiology before transitioning into ketamine and psychedelic medicine. In the episode, he explains that his clinics have performed thousands of ketamine infusions and that his approach combines the medicine with preparation and integration rather than treating the infusion as a standalone intervention.

His work focuses on helping individuals struggling with conditions including depression, PTSD, trauma, chronic pain, and other mental health challenges, while emphasizing personalized care and the potential for lasting behavioral and personal change.

Connect With Dr. James T. Leathem

🌐 Gilbert Chandler Ketamine Therapy Clinic:

Gilbert Ketamine Therapy Clinic

🌐 Scottsdale Ketamine Therapy Clinic:

Scottsdale Ketamine Therapy Clinic

👨‍⚕️ Dr. James T. Leathem, DO:

Dr. James Leathem’s Profile

Follow Dr. Aaron Hartman and Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine

🌐 Website: https://richmondfunctionalmedicine.com/

🎒 Back-to-School 2026: Back-to-School Bundle

📺 YouTube: @AaronHartmanMD

Mentioned in this episode:

25% Off Back to School Support for Parents

Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale

Back to School Support for Parents

25% Off Back to School Support for Parents

Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale

Back to School Support for Parents

🔥 What if recovering from a concussion isn’t about pushing harder, but understanding exactly what your brain needs to heal without exceeding its limits? Read UnCurable (https://uncurablebook.com/) to explore how addressing inflammation, cellular health, nutrition, and the interconnected systems of the body can help support the natural healing process.

Concussion Recovery Requires More Than Rest: How to Support the Brain After a Traumatic Brain Injury

In this Made for Health minisode, Dr. Aaron Hartman concludes his series on concussions and traumatic brain injuries by answering the question that follows understanding the causes, symptoms, and biological effects of TBI: What can you actually do to support recovery? He walks through the framework he uses with patients, beginning with strategies aimed at decreasing inflammation and supporting the brain during both acute and chronic stages of recovery.

Dr. Hartman discusses nutrition, healthy fats, omega-3s, choline, curcumin, blood-brain barrier support, mitochondrial restoration, hormone balance, magnesium, sleep, graded exercise, brain retraining, vagus nerve activation, and therapies such as hyperbaric oxygen. One of his most important messages is that recovery must respect the brain's metabolic threshold. If exercise or cognitive activity leaves you feeling worse the following day or takes several days to recover from, you may be pushing beyond your current capacity.

Rather than looking for one universal solution, Dr. Hartman emphasizes evaluating the bigger picture, including the gut, hormones, environment, toxins, emotional health, and other factors that may influence recovery. He closes the series with a message of hope for people dealing with persistent symptoms after traumatic brain injury.

Key Topics Covered

The foundations of concussion and traumatic brain injury recoveryWhy reducing brain inflammation is an early priorityThe role of an anti-inflammatory TBI dietHealthy fats, omega-3s, omega-6s, protein, and cholineCurcumin and other nutrients used to support brain healthSupporting the blood-brain barrier after traumatic brain injuryThe relationship between leaky gut and leaky brainPhosphatidylcholine and cell membrane supportMagnesium and its role in brain healthMitochondrial restoration and energy productionB vitamins, CoQ10, and mitochondrial supportHormonal changes following traumatic brain injurySleep disturbances and melatoninGraded exercise during concussion recoveryUnderstanding your metabolic thresholdWhy pushing too hard can worsen symptomsVestibular rehabilitation and neuro-ophthalmologyBrain retraining and cognitive exercisesVagus nerve activation and nervous system regulationHyperbaric oxygen therapy and sensory deprivationLong-term strategies for supporting brain resilienceWhy gut health, hormones, toxins, and environment may need to be addressedHope for people living with persistent post-concussion symptoms

In This Episode, You Will Learn

✅ Why concussion recovery may require more than simply resting and waiting

✅ How an anti-inflammatory diet and specific nutrients may support brain health

✅ Why the blood-brain barrier, gut, mitochondria, and hormones can all matter during recovery

✅ How to recognize when exercise or cognitive activity has exceeded your metabolic threshold

✅ Why graded exercise and brain retraining should be approached carefully during the chronic phase of recovery

✅ How hyperbaric oxygen, nervous system regulation, and other supportive strategies fit into Dr. Hartman’s clinical approach

✅ Why persistent post-concussion symptoms may require looking beyond the brain at the whole person

Follow Dr. Aaron Hartman and Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine

🌐 Website: https://richmondfunctionalmedicine.com/

📺 YouTube: @AaronHartmanMD

Mentioned in this episode:

25% Off Back to School Support for Parents

Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale

Back to School Support for Parents

25% Off Back to School Support for Parents

Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale

Back to School Support for Parents

🔥 What if the problem isn’t fat itself, but what happens to fats before they ever reach your plate? Read UnCurable (https://uncurablebook.com/) to explore a different way of thinking about chronic illness, nutrition, and supporting the body’s natural capacity for health.

Healthy Fats, Omega-3s, and Seed Oil Myths: What Most People Get Wrong About Fat

In this episode of Made for Health, Dr. Aaron Hartman sits down with legendary health educator Udo Erasmus, founder of Udo’s Choice and author of Fats That Heal, Fats That Kill, for a deep conversation about healthy fats, essential fatty acids, oil processing, and the nutritional myths that have shaped the way we think about fat. Udo shares how his experience with pesticide poisoning pushed him to take greater responsibility for his health and begin studying the relationship between nutrition and disease. That investigation eventually led him to focus on oils, which he believes are among the most easily damaged components of our food supply.

Udo explains why omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids are essential nutrients and challenges the idea that all seed oils or omega-6 fats should automatically be considered harmful. Instead, he argues that the condition, processing, balance, and handling of these fats matter. He and Dr. Hartman explore how oils can be affected by heat, light, oxygen, industrial processing, and frying, as well as why Udo developed a method of producing oils with health rather than shelf life in mind.

The conversation ultimately expands beyond nutrition. Udo shares his broader philosophy of total health, explaining why physical health is only one part of the picture and why emotional health, social connection, environment, awareness, and inner peace also deserve attention.

Key Topics Covered

Udo Erasmus’ journey from pesticide poisoning to studying nutrition and healthy fatsWhy he began investigating how commercial oils are producedThe difference between healthy fats and damaged fatsWhy omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids are considered essential nutrientsThe controversy surrounding omega-6 fats and seed oilsWhy Udo believes processing is a critical part of the seed oil conversationHow light, oxygen, and heat can affect sensitive oilsIndustrial refining, bleaching, and deodorization of oilsWhy frying can further alter oilsUdo’s approach to producing oils with health in mindWhy omega-3 fats require careful handlingThe balance between omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acidsHow dietary fats support the absorption of fat-soluble nutrientsThe relationship between fats, mitochondria, and cellular functionUdo’s “oil change” concept for thinking about dietary fatsCommon myths about fats and essential fatty acidsFats That Heal, Fats That KillYour Body Needs an Oil ChangeWhy Udo believes health should become a teachable fieldThe physical, mental, emotional, social, environmental, and inner dimensions of total health

In This Episode, You Will Learn

✅ Why Udo Erasmus believes the conversation about dietary fat needs to distinguish between healthy and damaged fats

✅ Why omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids are both essential to human nutrition

✅ How processing, heat, oxygen, and light may change sensitive oils

✅ Why Udo challenges the blanket claim that all seed oils and omega-6 fats are inherently bad

✅ How healthy fats can support the absorption of fat-soluble nutrients

✅ Why Udo compares changing the fats in your diet to giving your body an “oil change”

✅ How his philosophy of health has expanded beyond nutrition to include emotional wellness, environment, awareness, relationships, and inner peace

Follow Dr. Aaron Hartman and Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine

🌐 Website: https://richmondfunctionalmedicine.com/

📺 YouTube: @AaronHartmanMD

Connect With Udo Erasmus

🌐 Udo’s Choice:

https://udoschoice.co.uk/

📸 Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/udoerasmus/

📘 Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/theudoerasmus/

💼 LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/udoerasmus/

Mentioned in this episode:

25% Off Back to School Support for Parents

Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale

Back to School Support for Parents

25% Off Back to School Support for Parents

Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale

Back to School Support for Parents

🔥 What if the reason you're still struggling months or even years after a concussion isn't the injury itself, but the hidden factors keeping your brain stuck in a cycle of chronic inflammation? Read UnCurable (https://uncurablebook.com/) to discover how identifying and removing the roadblocks to healing can help support your body's natural ability to recover from complex chronic illness.

Why Some People Never Fully Recover from a Concussion: The Hidden Causes of Chronic Brain Inflammation

In this Made for Health minisode, Dr. Aaron Hartman explores why some people continue to experience post-concussive symptoms long after the expected recovery period. While many individuals improve within weeks or months, others remain stuck with brain fog, fatigue, headaches, cognitive changes, and other persistent symptoms for years. Dr. Hartman explains that these ongoing challenges may not simply be the result of the original injury, but of biological processes that continue to fuel inflammation and prevent the brain from fully healing.

Using a functional medicine perspective, Dr. Hartman discusses the many factors that can keep the brain trapped in this inflammatory cycle, including blood-brain barrier dysfunction, gut dysbiosis, food sensitivities, environmental toxins, mold exposure, hormonal imbalances, sleep deprivation, chronic stress, insulin resistance, nutrient deficiencies, and low omega-3 levels. Rather than treating concussion as an isolated brain injury, he explains why evaluating the whole body may be essential for helping the brain return to its natural healing state.

Key Topics Covered

Why some people develop persistent post-concussion symptomsChronic neuroinflammation after traumatic brain injuryBlood-brain barrier dysfunction and brain healingThe connection between leaky gut and leaky brainGut dysbiosis and chronic inflammationFood sensitivities that may contribute to neuroinflammationMold exposure, mycotoxins, and environmental triggersEMF exposure and blood-brain barrier healthHormonal deficiencies that may slow recoverySleep deprivation and chronic stressHeavy metals and other neurotoxic exposuresInsulin resistance, metabolic health, and brain functionOmega-3 deficiency and inflammationWhy functional medicine evaluates the whole person after a concussionPreparing for a comprehensive recovery plan

Follow Dr. Aaron Hartman and Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine

🌐 Website: https://richmondfunctionalmedicine.com/

📺 YouTube: @AaronHartmanMD

Mentioned in this episode:

25% Off Back to School Support for Parents

Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale

Back to School Support for Parents

25% Off Back to School Support for Parents

Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale

Back to School Support for Parents

🔥 What if there isn't a single treatment for Long COVID because there isn't a single biological process causing it? Read UnCurable (https://uncurablebook.com/) to learn how identifying what's blocking your body's natural healing process can help create a more personalized path toward recovery from complex chronic illness.

Long COVID Treatment Requires More Than One Approach: Integrative Strategies for Recovery

In this episode of Made for Health, Dr. Aaron Hartman and Dr. Christian Jenski conclude their three-part Long COVID series by exploring the therapeutic strategies they have found most helpful when caring for patients with persistent post-viral symptoms. They explain why Long COVID is rarely driven by a single mechanism, making individualized care essential. Rather than focusing on one treatment, they discuss how clinicians often layer therapies based on each patient's biology, symptoms, and underlying contributors.

Throughout the conversation, Dr. Hartman and Dr. Jenski discuss integrative approaches including low-dose naltrexone (LDN), GLP-1 receptor agonists, mast cell stabilizers, phospholipid therapy, antivirals, peptides, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, nutritional support, and other targeted interventions. They emphasize that treatment decisions should always be made with qualified healthcare professionals and that these therapies are selected based on an individual's unique clinical presentation rather than a one-size-fits-all protocol. The episode closes with an encouraging reminder that patients living with Long COVID should not lose hope, as new research and clinical experience continue to expand available options.

Key Topics Covered

Why Long COVID treatment requires an individualized approachLow-dose naltrexone (LDN) and its role in immune modulationLDN for chronic pain, fatigue, autoimmune conditions, and Long COVIDGLP-1 receptor agonists and microdosing strategiesMast cell stabilizers and antihistamine approachesAddressing dysautonomia and POTS-related symptomsSleep support and nervous system regulationAntiviral therapies for selected patientsPhospholipid therapy and cell membrane healthIV phosphatidylcholine and mitochondrial supportPeptides and emerging integrative therapiesHyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT)Nutritional and supplement strategiesWhy treatment plans often involve combining multiple therapiesThe importance of working with experienced healthcare professionals

In This Episode, You Will Learn

✅ Why there is no single treatment that works for every person with Long COVID

✅ How low-dose naltrexone (LDN) is being used as part of integrative care for chronic inflammatory conditions

✅ Why clinicians may consider different therapies based on each patient's symptom pattern

✅ How mast cell stabilization, mitochondrial support, and nervous system regulation may fit into personalized care

✅ Why restoring cellular health and reducing inflammation are important considerations in functional medicine

✅ Why hope, education, and individualized care remain central to Long COVID recovery

Follow Dr. Aaron Hartman and Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine

🌐 Website: https://richmondfunctionalmedicine.com/

📺 YouTube: @AaronHartmanMD

Mentioned in this episode:

25% Off Back to School Support for Parents

Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale

Back to School Support for Parents

25% Off Back to School Support for Parents

Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale

Back to School Support for Parents

🔥 What if a brain injury doesn't just affect your brain—but also your heart, gut, immune system, hormones, metabolism, and even the way your body heals? Read UnCurable (https://uncurablebook.com/) to explore how seemingly unrelated symptoms can be connected through the body's complex biological systems.

How a Brain Injury Can Affect Your Heart, Gut, Hormones, and Immune System

In this Made for Health minisode, Dr. Aaron Hartman continues his concussion series by explaining why a traumatic brain injury can have effects far beyond the brain itself. Using a "one brain, one body" perspective, he explores how the brain serves as the master regulator of nearly every system in the body. When that regulation is disrupted—whether by a concussion, emotional trauma, or PTSD-like events—it can contribute to problems involving the heart, digestive system, hormones, immune function, metabolism, and sleep.

Dr. Hartman discusses the connections between the brain and the vagus nerve, heart rate variability, the gut microbiome, neurotransmitter production, immune regulation, hormone balance, metabolic health, and lipid membranes. He explains how understanding these interconnected systems can help clinicians recognize why symptoms that seem unrelated may actually share a common neurological origin, setting the stage for the next episode focused on practical treatment strategies.

Key Topics Covered

The "one brain, one body" approach to traumatic brain injuryWhy the brain acts as the master regulator of the body's systemsHeart rate variability (HRV) and the brain-heart connectionThe role of the vagus nerve in heart, gut, and immune functionHow traumatic brain injury may contribute to fatigue and exercise intoleranceThe gut-brain axis and neurotransmitter productionLeaky gut, the microbiome, and neuroinflammationButyrate and its role in brain protectionSleep disturbances following brain injuryBrain injury, immune dysregulation, and autoimmune conditionsEmotional trauma, PTSD, and adverse childhood experiences as potential contributors to brain dysfunctionHormonal changes that may influence brain recoveryMetabolic health, insulin resistance, and brain resilienceLipid medicine, phospholipids, omega-3s, and neuroprotectionWhy understanding whole-body connections can guide recovery

Follow Dr. Aaron Hartman and Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine

🌐 Website: https://richmondfunctionalmedicine.com/

📺 YouTube: @AaronHartmanMD

Mentioned in this episode:

25% Off Back to School Support for Parents

Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale

Back to School Support for Parents

25% Off Back to School Support for Parents

Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale

Back to School Support for Parents

🔥 What if Long COVID isn’t one condition, but a collection of biological processes keeping your body stuck in survival mode long after the infection is gone? Read UnCurable (https://uncurablebook.com/) to explore how chronic illness can involve the immune system, mitochondria, inflammation, and the body’s ability to recover.

Why Long COVID Can Trigger Brain Fog, Fatigue, and Autoimmunity: The Hidden Biology Behind Persistent Symptoms

In this episode of Made for Health, Dr. Aaron Hartman welcomes back Dr. Christian Jenski to continue their deep dive into Long COVID and the complex biological mechanisms that may keep symptoms going long after the initial infection. Rather than viewing Long COVID as a single condition, they explain why it may represent multiple overlapping processes involving chronic inflammation, immune dysregulation, mitochondrial dysfunction, mast cell activation, nervous system changes, and persistent cellular stress.

Dr. Hartman and Dr. Jenski discuss how functional and integrative medicine approaches complex illnesses by identifying patterns across multiple body systems instead of focusing on isolated symptoms. They explore the science behind Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS), Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS), the Cell Danger Response, mitochondrial dysfunction, senescent cells, autophagy, autoimmunity, and nervous system dysregulation. Throughout the conversation, they emphasize that understanding which mechanisms are driving an individual's symptoms is essential for creating a personalized treatment strategy under the guidance of an experienced clinician.

Key Topics Covered

Why Long COVID may involve multiple overlapping biological processesHow functional medicine approaches complex chronic illness through systems biologyMast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS) and persistent inflammationWhy mast cells can contribute to fatigue, brain fog, digestive symptoms, skin issues, and painChronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS) and biotoxin illnessHow environmental exposures may contribute to chronic inflammationMitochondrial dysfunction and the Cell Danger ResponseWhy cells can become "stuck" in survival modeSenescent ("zombie") cells and chronic immune activationThe roles of autophagy and apoptosis in healthy cellular turnoverUnderstanding DAMPs and PAMPs in chronic immune signalingHow persistent inflammation may contribute to autoimmunityNervous system dysregulation and limbic retrainingWhy personalized testing and clinical oversight are important when evaluating Long COVID

In This Episode, You Will Learn

✅ Why Long COVID may involve much more than a lingering viral infection

✅ How mast cell activation can contribute to a wide variety of persistent symptoms

✅ The connection between chronic inflammation, mitochondrial dysfunction, and fatigue

✅ Why damaged cells may continue sending inflammatory signals long after an illness

✅ How chronic immune activation may contribute to autoimmune conditions

✅ Why functional medicine focuses on identifying each patient's unique combination of biological drivers

Follow Dr. Aaron Hartman and Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine

🌐 Website: https://richmondfunctionalmedicine.com/

📺 YouTube: @AaronHartmanMD

Mentioned in this episode:

25% Off Back to School Support for Parents

Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale

Back to School Support for Parents

25% Off Back to School Support for Parents

Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale

Back to School Support for Parents

🔥 What if the lingering effects of a concussion don’t always look like headaches or dizziness, but instead show up as brain fog, sleep problems, vision changes, hormone issues, or emotional shifts that seem completely unrelated? Read UnCurable (https://uncurablebook.com/) to explore a deeper perspective on chronic illness, brain health, and why identifying overlooked connections can be an important part of understanding what is happening in the body.

What if symptoms that seem unrelated could actually trace back to an old concussion?

In this Made for Health minisode, Dr. Aaron Hartman continues his series on concussions and traumatic brain injuries by exploring the many ways post-concussion symptoms can appear beyond the signs most people recognize. Headaches, dizziness, nausea, and light sensitivity may be familiar warning signs, but concussion-related changes can also affect cognition, emotions, vision, balance, hormones, sleep, and nervous system regulation.

Dr. Hartman explains how post-concussion symptoms generally fall into somatic, cognitive, and emotional categories before diving into subtler patterns that may be overlooked. He discusses vestibular dysfunction, visual tracking difficulties, slower processing speed, memory problems, difficulty switching between tasks, hormonal disruption, autonomic dysregulation, and sleep disturbances. He also explains why emotional changes such as anxiety, depression, irritability, and difficulty handling stress may sometimes reflect changes in brain function rather than being purely psychological.

Key Topics Covered

Why post-concussion symptoms can persist much longer than expectedThe somatic, cognitive, and emotional categories of concussion symptomsHeadaches, fatigue, dizziness, nausea, and sensory sensitivity after a concussionWhy seemingly minor acceleration and deceleration injuries may affect the brainMemory problems, brain fog, and slower processing speedWhy multitasking and switching between tasks may become more difficultVestibular dysfunction and unexplained dizzinessVisual dysfunction, eye tracking problems, and reading fatigueHow concussion may affect the hypothalamic-pituitary axis and hormone functionThe connection between brain injury and autonomic nervous system dysregulationSleep initiation, sleep maintenance, and poor-quality sleep after concussionWhy restorative sleep is especially important for brain recoveryAnxiety, depression, irritability, and emotional dysregulation after brain injuryWhy some post-concussion symptoms may be mistaken for unrelated conditionsThe importance of looking at the bigger picture when symptoms persist

Follow Dr. Aaron Hartman and Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine

🌐 Website: https://richmondfunctionalmedicine.com/

📺 YouTube: @AaronHartmanMD

Mentioned in this episode:

25% Off Back to School Support for Parents

Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale

Back to School Support for Parents

25% Off Back to School Support for Parents

Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale

Back to School Support for Parents

🔥 What if Long COVID isn't an entirely new condition, but another chapter in a much older story of infections triggering chronic inflammation, immune dysfunction, and symptoms that refuse to go away? Read UnCurable (https://uncurablebook.com/) to explore a deeper perspective on complex chronic illness, root-cause medicine, and why understanding what keeps the body stuck may be the key to moving healing forward.

What if Long COVID is still affecting millions of people while the resources created to study it are disappearing?

In this episode of Made for Health, Dr. Aaron Hartman and Dr. Christian Jenski begin a new series on Long COVID and the larger world of post-infectious chronic illness. They discuss why people continue to experience persistent symptoms years after infection, even as federally funded Long COVID programs and research initiatives wind down without establishing a single standardized approach to diagnosis or treatment.

Dr. Hartman and Dr. Jenski explore why Long COVID may not be an entirely new phenomenon, but part of a broader pattern of post-infectious illness seen throughout medical history. They discuss its overlap with chronic fatigue, POTS, dysautonomia, mast cell activation, mitochondrial dysfunction, chronic inflammatory response, and other complex conditions. They also explain why functional medicine approaches these patients through a systems-based lens, looking at inflammation, immune regulation, metabolic health, nutrition, gut health, environmental exposures, and other potential contributors rather than treating each symptom in isolation.

Key Topics Covered

Why Long COVID remains a major health challenge years after the pandemicThe winding down of federally funded Long COVID clinics and research programsWhy standardized diagnostic and treatment pathways remain limitedThe history of post-viral and post-infectious syndromesWhy Long COVID may share patterns with other complex chronic illnessesThe overlap between Long COVID, chronic fatigue, POTS, and dysautonomiaMast cell activation and chronic inflammatory responseMitochondrial dysfunction and persistent post-viral symptomsWhy multisystem illness can be difficult to address through separate medical specialtiesHow functional medicine uses a systems-based approach to complex illnessThe role of metabolic health and underlying inflammationNutrition, nutrient optimization, and the gut-brain axisWhy treatment needs may change from acute infection to chronic illnessHow infections may trigger or uncover previously hidden health vulnerabilitiesWhy individualized care matters when treating complex chronic conditions

Follow Dr. Aaron Hartman and Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine

🌐 Website: https://richmondfunctionalmedicine.com/

📺 YouTube: @AaronHartmanMD

Mentioned in this episode:

25% Off Back to School Support for Parents

Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale

Back to School Support for Parents

25% Off Back to School Support for Parents

Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale

Back to School Support for Parents

🔥 What if the symptoms that linger after a concussion aren't because the injury was severe... but because the brain is still trying to heal? Read UnCurable (https://uncurablebook.com/) to discover how inflammation, cellular health, and root-cause medicine are changing the way we think about chronic conditions.

A Mild Concussion Can Have Lasting Effects on the Brain

In this Made for Health minisode, Dr. Aaron Hartman continues his series on concussions and post-concussion syndrome by explaining what actually happens inside the brain after a head injury. While many people assume a concussion is only serious if someone loses consciousness, the science tells a different story. Even a mild traumatic brain injury can trigger inflammation, disrupt cellular energy production, and lead to symptoms that persist for months.

Dr. Hartman walks through the biology of concussion, including changes to the blood-brain barrier, mitochondrial dysfunction, inflammation, and why the brain's electrical activity after a concussion can resemble seizure-like patterns. He also explains why factors such as metabolic health, nutrition, gut health, and previous injuries may influence recovery and discusses emerging strategies that may help support the healing process.

Key Topics Covered

Common myths about concussions and loss of consciousnessWhy mild traumatic brain injuries can cause long-lasting symptomsHow concussion affects the blood-brain barrierMitochondrial dysfunction and impaired energy productionBrain inflammation and cytokine activationWhy concussion may resemble seizure activityFactors that can influence recovery after a brain injuryThe potential role of omega-3s, magnesium, and metabolic healthWhy concussion should be treated as a whole-body condition

In This Episode, You Will Learn

✅ Why losing consciousness is not required for a concussion to be serious

✅ How brain inflammation can affect the entire body

✅ What happens to brain cells immediately after a concussion

✅ Why mitochondrial dysfunction can prolong recovery

✅ How nutrition and overall health may influence healing

✅ Why understanding the biology of concussion helps guide treatment

Follow Dr. Aaron Hartman and Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine

🌐 Website: https://richmondfunctionalmedicine.com/

📺 YouTube: @AaronHartmanMD

Mentioned in this episode:

25% Off Back to School Support for Parents

Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale

Back to School Support for Parents

25% Off Back to School Support for Parents

Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale

Back to School Support for Parents

🔥 What if the biggest obstacle to healing chronic illness isn't finding the right medication... but helping your cells recover from years of inflammation, infection, and stress? Read UnCurable to explore a deeper perspective on chronic illness, root-cause medicine, and why healing often begins at the cellular level.

What if chronic illness is really a problem of cellular communication?

In this episode of Made for Health, Dr. Aaron Hartman welcomes Dr. Melanie Stein, ND, a licensed naturopathic physician, acupuncturist, and founder of Restorative Health Clinic, to discuss why chronic illnesses such as Lyme disease, mold toxicity, mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS), POTS, and long COVID often share a common thread: impaired cellular function.

Dr. Stein shares her remarkable personal journey from suddenly waking up unable to move her legs during naturopathic medical school to being told her symptoms were "all in her head." After developing a bullseye rash and ultimately discovering she had Lyme disease, she began a years-long journey into functional medicine that transformed both her health and her career.

Together, Dr. Hartman and Dr. Stein explore the science behind the Cell Danger Response, cell membrane health, mitochondrial function, phospholipid therapy, neural therapy, photobiomodulation, peptide therapy, and other emerging approaches that aim to restore the body's ability to heal rather than simply suppress symptoms.

About the Guest

Dr. Melanie Stein, ND, is a licensed naturopathic physician, acupuncturist, and founder of Restorative Health Clinic in Portland, Oregon. She earned her Doctorate in Naturopathic Medicine and Master's in Acupuncture from the National University of Natural Medicine. After overcoming her own battle with chronic Lyme disease and complex neurological illness, she dedicated her practice to helping patients with chronic infections, mold illness, mast cell activation, POTS, long COVID, and other complex chronic conditions through a root-cause, cellular healing approach.

Key Topics Covered

Dr. Melanie Stein's personal experience with paralysis and medical gaslightingWhy chronic Lyme disease is often misunderstoodWhat naturopathic medicine adds to root-cause healthcareThe science behind the Cell Danger ResponseHow chronic inflammation affects cell membranesWhy mitochondrial dysfunction contributes to chronic illnessThe connection between Lyme disease, mold exposure, MCAS, POTS, and dysautonomiaWhy healing cell membranes may improve cellular communicationThe role of phosphatidylcholine (PC) and phospholipid therapyIV butyrate and mitochondrial supportNeural therapy and vagus nerve regulationPhotobiomodulation (red light therapy) and cellular healingSupportive Oligonucleotide Therapy (SOT) for chronic infectionsWhy healthy fats are essential for cell membrane healthFunctional medicine strategies for treating complex chronic illness

In This Episode, You Will Learn

✅ Why chronic illness often begins at the cellular level

✅ How inflammation changes the structure and function of cell membranes

✅ Why Lyme disease, mold illness, MCAS, and POTS frequently overlap

✅ How mitochondrial dysfunction contributes to fatigue and chronic symptoms

✅ Why supporting cell membranes may improve healing and resilience

✅ How functional medicine combines nutrition, lifestyle, and advanced therapies to support recovery

Resources & Links

📘 Breaking Through Chronic Illness by Dr. Melanie Stein (Available on Amazon)

🌐 Restorative Health Clinic: https://restorativehealthclinic.com/

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drmelaniestein/

🌐 Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine: https://richmondfunctionalmedicine.com/

📘 UnCurable: https://uncurablebook.com/

Mentioned in this episode:

25% Off Back to School Support for Parents

Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale

Back to School Support for Parents

25% Off Back to School Support for Parents

Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale

Back to School Support for Parents

🔥 What if a concussion doesn't end when the headache goes away... but continues to affect your brain, nervous system, and overall health for months or even years? Read UnCurable to explore a deeper perspective on chronic inflammation, brain health, and the hidden root causes that often go overlooked.

What if a concussion is more than just a bump on the head?

In this minisode of Made for Health, Dr. Aaron Hartman begins a new series on traumatic brain injuries by explaining why concussions are far more complex than many people realize. He explores how even seemingly minor head injuries can trigger inflammation, alter brain function, and contribute to long-term health challenges if they are not properly recognized and addressed.

Dr. Hartman discusses the differences between traumatic brain injuries and concussions, the concept of primary versus secondary brain injury, and why normal CT scans or MRIs do not always rule out lasting neurological effects. He also explains how repetitive micro-concussions from sports, falls, and other everyday events may contribute to chronic symptoms, particularly when combined with infections, inflammation, or other stressors later in life.

Key Topics Covered

What defines a traumatic brain injury (TBI) and a concussionWhy concussions are often invisible on standard brain imagingThe difference between primary and secondary brain injuryHow brain inflammation affects the nervous systemWhy even mild concussions can have lasting consequencesThe role of repetitive micro-concussions in long-term healthSports and activities commonly associated with head injuriesThe connection between brain injuries and chronic fatigue, gut health, and moodHow previous concussions may increase vulnerability to future illnessWhy functional medicine looks beyond imaging resultsThe growing prevalence of traumatic brain injuriesWhy early recognition is essential for long-term brain health

In This Episode, You Will Learn

✅ Why a concussion is more than simply losing consciousness

✅ How brain inflammation can continue after the initial injury

✅ Why normal imaging does not always mean the brain has fully healed

✅ How repetitive head injuries may contribute to chronic symptoms

✅ Why brain injuries can affect the gut, immune system, and nervous system

✅ How recognizing past concussions may change your healthcare approach

Follow Dr. Aaron Hartman and Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine

🌐 Website: https://richmondfunctionalmedicine.com/

📺 YouTube: @AaronHartmanMD

Mentioned in this episode:

25% Off Back to School Support for Parents

Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale

Back to School Support for Parents

25% Off Back to School Support for Parents

Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale

Back to School Support for Parents

🔥 What if improving women's health starts by recognizing that women are not simply smaller versions of men... but have unique physiology that deserves its own approach? Read UnCurable to explore a deeper perspective on chronic illness, women's health, and why personalized medicine begins with asking better questions.

What if women's health requires an entirely different lens than modern healthcare has traditionally provided?

In this episode of Made for Health, Dr. Aaron Hartman and Dr. Christian Jenski conclude their series on medical blind spots by discussing why women deserve a more personalized approach to healthcare. They explain how female physiology differs throughout every stage of life and why treating women's health as primarily reproductive health has left many patients feeling unseen, unheard, and undertreated.

The conversation explores why intuition, patient advocacy, and individualized care are essential in functional medicine. Dr. Hartman and Dr. Jenski discuss hormone health, personalized testing, therapeutic trials, environmental health, nutrition, and the importance of partnering with healthcare providers who are willing to think beyond conventional algorithms. They also share practical advice for becoming an informed advocate for your own health while avoiding common pitfalls such as misinformation, social media echo chambers, and one-size-fits-all medical advice.

About the Guest

Dr. Christian Jenski is a triple board-certified physician specializing in emergency medicine, obesity medicine, and functional medicine. He works alongside Dr. Aaron Hartman to help patients uncover the root causes of complex chronic illnesses through a systems-based, evidence-informed approach that integrates lifestyle medicine, metabolic health, cardiovascular prevention, and personalized care.

Key Topics Covered

Why women's health requires a different clinical perspectiveHow female physiology changes throughout different life stagesWhy reproductive health is only one part of women's healthThe importance of trusting intuition while pursuing evidence-based careHow medical gaslighting can undermine patient confidenceFinding healthcare practitioners who value curiosity and collaborationWhy personalized medicine goes beyond standard treatment protocolsThe role of hormone health, nutrition, and lifestyle interventionsTherapeutic trials and individualized treatment plansAvoiding misinformation and social media echo chambersWhy objective testing and clinical judgment work best togetherBuilding a trusted healthcare teamThe importance of patient education and self-advocacyHow improving women's health can positively impact entire families

Follow Dr. Aaron Hartman and Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine

🌐 Website: https://richmondfunctionalmedicine.com/

📺 YouTube: @AaronHartmanMD

Mentioned in this episode:

25% Off Back to School Support for Parents

Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale

Back to School Support for Parents

25% Off Back to School Support for Parents

Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale

Back to School Support for Parents

🔥 What if supporting hypermobility starts long before advanced therapies... with giving your connective tissue the nutrients and support it has been missing? Read UnCurable to explore a deeper perspective on connective tissue health, chronic illness, and the foundations that help the body heal.

What if the best treatment for hypermobility starts by rebuilding the body's foundation?

In this minisode of Made for Health, Dr. Aaron Hartman concludes his hypermobility series by outlining a practical, whole-body approach to supporting connective tissue health. Rather than relying on a single therapy, he explains why nutrition, targeted supplementation, bodywork, and regenerative therapies all work together to improve long-term outcomes for people living with hypermobility.

Dr. Hartman discusses why many people with hypermobility require higher protein intake, additional vitamin C, collagen support, trace minerals, anti-inflammatory nutrition, and gut repair strategies. He also explains how therapies such as myofascial work, craniosacral therapy, Pilates, yoga, acupuncture, and regenerative medicine may help improve pain, nervous system regulation, and connective tissue function when used as part of a personalized care plan.

Key Topics Covered

Why nutrition is the foundation of hypermobility treatmentThe increased protein needs of people with hypermobilityHow collagen and bone broth support connective tissueWhy vitamin C is essential for connective tissue repairThe importance of magnesium, trace minerals, and silicaHow processed foods may contribute to nutrient deficienciesThe role of anti-inflammatory nutrition in connective tissue healthGut repair strategies that support healingAdvanced therapies including peptides and regenerative medicineWhen intravenous vitamin C may be consideredWhy phosphatidylcholine supports healthy cell membranesThe importance of myofascial therapy, craniosacral therapy, and acupunctureHow Pilates, yoga, and Tai Chi may improve stability and reduce painWhy treating headaches and nervous system dysregulation mattersBuilding a personalized plan that combines nutrition, movement, and bodywork

Follow Dr. Aaron Hartman and Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine

🌐 Website: https://richmondfunctionalmedicine.com/

📺 YouTube: @AaronHartmanMD

Mentioned in this episode:

25% Off Back to School Support for Parents

Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale

Back to School Support for Parents

25% Off Back to School Support for Parents

Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale

Back to School Support for Parents

🔥 What if being told "everything looks normal" has less to do with your symptoms... and more to do with the limits of the healthcare system? Read UnCurable to explore a deeper perspective on chronic illness, overlooked diagnoses, and why asking better questions can change lives.

What if medical gaslighting is preventing people from getting the care they truly need?

In this episode of Made for Health, Dr. Aaron Hartman and Dr. Christian Jenski continue their series on medical blind spots by exploring one of healthcare's most damaging challenges: medical gaslighting.

They discuss how patients with chronic symptoms are too often told that "everything is normal" or that their symptoms are caused by stress or anxiety, even when an underlying medical condition has yet to be identified. The conversation highlights why unexplained symptoms should be viewed as unfinished science rather than dismissed as imaginary, and why listening carefully to patients remains one of the most powerful diagnostic tools in medicine.

Through examples including fibromyalgia, perimenopause, POTS, mold-related illness, neurodivergence, autoimmune conditions, and chronic pain, Dr. Hartman and Dr. Jenski explain how curiosity, expanded testing, and a root-cause approach can help uncover conditions that conventional evaluations may overlook.

About the Guest

Dr. Christian Jenski is a triple board-certified physician specializing in emergency medicine, obesity medicine, and functional medicine. He works alongside Dr. Aaron Hartman to help patients uncover the root causes of complex chronic illnesses through a systems-based, evidence-informed approach that integrates lifestyle medicine, metabolic health, cardiovascular prevention, and personalized care.

Key Topics Covered

What medical gaslighting is and why it happensWhy unexplained symptoms should not be dismissedHow chronic illness is often misunderstood in conventional healthcareThe relationship between fibromyalgia and neuroinflammationWhy perimenopause symptoms are frequently overlookedThe connection between hormones, chronic inflammation, and nervous system healthWhy POTS continues to be underrecognizedHow mold-related illness can mimic many chronic conditionsThe impact of neurodivergence and connective tissue disorders on healthWhy environmental exposures and toxic burden deserve greater attentionThe importance of listening to patients and validating their experiencesHow functional medicine approaches complex, overlapping symptomsWhy curiosity and continued learning are essential for better healthcareThe role of patient advocacy in navigating chronic illness

Follow Dr. Aaron Hartman and Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine

🌐 Website: https://richmondfunctionalmedicine.com/

📺 YouTube: @AaronHartmanMD

Mentioned in this episode:

25% Off Back to School Support for Parents

Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale

Back to School Support for Parents

25% Off Back to School Support for Parents

Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale

Back to School Support for Parents

🔥 What if recognizing hypermobility early could change the course of someone's lifelong health? Read UnCurable to explore a deeper perspective on chronic illness, connective tissue health, and the root causes that often go unnoticed.

What if identifying hypermobility is about much more than checking joint flexibility?

In this minisode of Made for Health, Dr. Aaron Hartman continues his series on hypermobility by explaining how clinicians evaluate connective tissue health beyond the traditional Beighton Score. He discusses why physical examination, body proportions, medical history, and connective tissue findings often provide important clues that standardized screening tools can miss.

Dr. Hartman also explores why hypermobility is fundamentally a connective tissue condition that can influence nearly every organ system, including the nervous system, digestive tract, immune system, cardiovascular system, and musculoskeletal system. He explains how recognizing these patterns early may help guide nutrition, lifestyle interventions, and personalized care strategies that support long-term health.

Key Topics Covered

What the Beighton Score measures and its limitationsWhy hypermobility requires more than a screening questionnaireHow physical examination helps identify connective tissue differencesBody proportions and physical signs associated with hypermobilityThe relationship between hypermobility and scoliosisWhy skin texture, stretch marks, and connective tissue findings matterChildhood signs that may suggest hypermobilityThe connection between hypermobility and recurrent joint instabilityHow connective tissue influences the nervous system and immune functionThe relationship between hypermobility, mast cell activation, and chronic painWhy hypermobility may contribute to gut dysfunction and SIBOThe importance of nutrition and connective tissue supportHow early recognition may improve long-term health outcomesWhy personalized care plans should account for connective tissue health

Follow Dr. Aaron Hartman and Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine

🌐 Website: https://richmondfunctionalmedicine.com/

📺 YouTube: @AaronHartmanMD

Mentioned in this episode:

25% Off Back to School Support for Parents

Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale

Back to School Support for Parents

25% Off Back to School Support for Parents

Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale

Back to School Support for Parents

🔥 What if some of the biggest health challenges people face today are not caused by bad medicine... but by blind spots in the system itself? Read UnCurable to explore a deeper perspective on overlooked diagnoses, chronic symptoms, and the importance of asking better questions when answers are hard to find.

What if some of medicine’s most trusted beliefs have unintentionally harmed the very people they were meant to help?

In this episode of Made for Health, Dr. Aaron Hartman and Dr. Christian Jenski begin a new series exploring medical blind spots, outdated assumptions, and the unintended consequences that can occur when healthcare systems become overly attached to prevailing beliefs.

Using historical examples and modern patient experiences, they discuss how medicine has repeatedly evolved by challenging accepted ideas. From handwashing and infection control to hormone replacement therapy and chronic illness, they examine how some widely accepted medical assumptions have later been proven incomplete or incorrect.

The conversation also highlights how women have often been disproportionately affected by these blind spots, particularly in areas such as autoimmune disease, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, hormonal health, fertility, and complex chronic illnesses. Throughout the episode, Dr. Hartman and Dr. Jenski emphasize the importance of curiosity, humility, patient advocacy, and continuously questioning assumptions in the pursuit of better healthcare.

About the Guest

Dr. Christian Jenski is a triple board-certified physician with expertise in emergency medicine, obesity medicine, and functional medicine. He works alongside Dr. Aaron Hartman to help patients uncover root causes of chronic illness through a systems-based and personalized approach to healthcare.

Key Topics Covered

What medical blind spots are and how they developWhy science evolves and accepted medical beliefs sometimes changeThe difference between scientific discovery and medical dogmaHistorical examples of medical blind spots and unintended harmThe story of handwashing and infection prevention in medicineHow healthcare systems can unintentionally overlook important patient experiencesWhy women are disproportionately affected by medical gaslightingThe relationship between chronic illness and missed diagnosesThe history and controversy surrounding hormone replacement therapyHow delayed acceptance of new evidence can affect patient careThe importance of intellectual curiosity in medicineWhy listening to patients remains one of the most important clinical skillsThe role of functional medicine in addressing complex chronic illnessesHow chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, autoimmune disease, and hormone disorders are often misunderstoodWhy advocacy and self-education can help patients navigate healthcare challenges

Follow Dr. Aaron Hartman and Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine

🌐 Website: https://richmondfunctionalmedicine.com/

📺 YouTube: @AaronHartmanMD

🔥 What if one of the most overlooked factors in chronic illness isn't an infection, hormone imbalance, or autoimmune condition... but the connective tissue you're born with? Read UnCurable to explore a deeper perspective on why seemingly unrelated symptoms may share common root causes.

What if hypermobility is the hidden link connecting many of today's most complex health conditions?

In this minisode of Made for Health, Dr. Aaron Hartman introduces hypermobility, a surprisingly common but frequently overlooked trait that may influence everything from chronic pain and fatigue to POTS, mast cell activation, neurodivergence, autoimmune conditions, and digestive health.

He explains that hypermobility exists on a spectrum. For some people, it may contribute to athletic performance, flexibility, and enhanced physical abilities. For others, it can create vulnerabilities that affect connective tissue, nervous system regulation, healing, immune function, and overall resilience.

The episode explores why connective tissue plays a much larger role in health than most people realize and how hypermobility may help explain why certain individuals are more susceptible to chronic symptoms, environmental triggers, infections, and inflammatory conditions.

Key Topics Covered

What hypermobility is and why it affects far more than just the jointsThe difference between hypermobility and Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS)Why hypermobility exists on a spectrumHow connective tissue influences the nervous system, healing, and inflammationThe relationship between hypermobility and neurodivergenceWhy hypermobility may be associated with ADHD, autism, and other neurological differencesThe connection between hypermobility and POTSHow mast cell activation and hypermobility frequently overlapWhy hypermobility may contribute to digestive symptoms and gut dysfunctionThe relationship between connective tissue health and chronic painHow hypermobility may influence recovery from infections and environmental exposuresThe connection between hypermobility, fatigue, and chronic illnessWhy nutrient deficiencies are common in hypermobile individualsThe importance of protein, minerals, vitamin C, vitamin D, and connective tissue supportWhy identifying hypermobility early may help support long-term health outcomes

Follow Dr. Aaron Hartman and Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine

🌐 Website: https://richmondfunctionalmedicine.com/

📺 YouTube: @AaronHartmanMD

🔥 What if one of the biggest challenges with Lyme disease isn’t treatment… but getting the diagnosis in the first place? Read UnCurable to explore a deeper perspective on chronic illness, missed diagnoses, and the root causes that often go overlooked.

What if Lyme disease is often missed because the testing was never designed to catch every case?

In this episode of Made for Health, Dr. Aaron Hartman and Veronica Porterfield conclude their Lyme disease series by exploring one of the most controversial and misunderstood aspects of Lyme disease: diagnosis and testing.

They explain why Lyme disease can be difficult to identify, why negative test results do not always rule out infection, and how the bacteria’s unique ability to evade the immune system creates significant challenges for conventional testing. The conversation also explores the differences between antibody testing, Western Blot testing, specialty laboratory testing, and emerging diagnostic technologies.

Throughout the discussion, Dr. Hartman and Veronica emphasize the importance of treating the patient rather than relying solely on laboratory results. They also explain how co-infections, chronic immune dysfunction, environmental factors, and gaps in clinician training can contribute to delayed diagnoses and prolonged suffering for many patients.

About the Guest

Veronica Porterfield, PA-C, IFMCP, MS, LN, MPAS is a functional medicine practitioner specializing in Lyme disease, chronic infections, mold-related illness, autoimmune conditions, and complex chronic health challenges. She is known for her root-cause approach to patient care and her expertise in helping patients navigate difficult-to-diagnose chronic illnesses.

Key Topics Covered

Why Lyme disease can be difficult to diagnose accuratelyThe limitations of standard Lyme antibody testingWhy a negative Lyme test does not always rule out infectionThe differences between screening tests, Western Blot testing, and specialty testingHow Lyme disease can interfere with normal immune responsesWhy antibody production does not always follow expected patternsUnderstanding Lyme-specific antibody bands and Western Blot interpretationThe differences between sensitivity and specificity in diagnostic testingHow specialty Lyme laboratories differ from conventional testingEmerging technologies used in Lyme disease detectionWhy co-infections can complicate both diagnosis and treatmentThe role of Bartonella, Babesia, and other tick-borne infectionsWhy clinician training and experience matter in complex chronic illnessThe impact of environmental toxins and immune dysfunction on chronic symptomsWhy patient symptoms remain a critical part of the diagnostic processHow advocacy and education can help patients navigate complex diagnoses

Follow Dr. Aaron Hartman and Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine

🌐 Website: https://richmondfunctionalmedicine.com/

📺 YouTube: @AaronHartmanMD

🔥 What if peptides work best not as a shortcut… but as a way to support the healing systems your body already has? Read UnCurable to explore a deeper perspective on restoring health by removing obstacles and supporting the body's natural ability to heal.

What if peptides are most effective when they support the body's natural healing process?

In this minisode of Made for Health, Dr. Aaron Hartman concludes his peptide series by sharing how he actually uses peptides in clinical practice and where they fit within a functional medicine approach to healing.

Rather than viewing peptides as standalone solutions, Dr. Hartman explains why they work best when combined with strong foundations such as nutrition, sleep, movement, stress management, and correcting nutrient deficiencies. He discusses how peptides can serve as targeted tools that help support healing, tissue repair, immune function, gut recovery, metabolic health, and healthy aging when used appropriately.

The episode also explores who may benefit from peptide therapy, who should avoid it, how practitioners evaluate risk, and why personalized treatment plans remain essential. Throughout the conversation, Dr. Hartman emphasizes a core principle of functional medicine: identify what is preventing the body from healing, remove the obstacles, and provide the support needed for recovery.

Key Topics Covered

How peptides fit into a functional medicine approach to health and healingWhy peptides work best when foundational health habits are already in placeThe relationship between peptides, nutrition, and adequate protein intakeHow peptides may support gut healing and tissue repairThe role of peptides in immune regulation and chronic inflammationWhy growth hormone naturally declines with ageHow peptides may support recovery, resilience, and healthy agingThe connection between peptides and metabolic healthWhy practitioners should identify root causes before adding advanced therapiesHow functional medicine focuses on removing obstacles to healingWho may be a good candidate for peptide therapyWhy active cancer and certain cancer histories require additional cautionThe importance of individualized treatment plans and monitoringHow regulatory changes continue to affect peptide availabilityWhy peptides should complement, not replace, foundational lifestyle interventions

Follow Dr. Aaron Hartman and Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine

🌐 Website: https://richmondfunctionalmedicine.com/

📺 YouTube: @AaronHartmanMD

🔥 What if some people continue struggling with Lyme disease not because treatment failed… but because the infection is far more complex than many realize? Read UnCurable to explore a deeper perspective on chronic illness, overlooked root causes, and personalized healing.

What if treating Lyme disease requires much more than antibiotics alone?

In this episode of Made for Health, Dr. Aaron Hartman and Veronica Porterfield continue their Lyme disease series by exploring why treating chronic Lyme disease can be far more complicated than simply prescribing antibiotics.

They discuss how Lyme bacteria can change forms, evade treatment, hide within biofilms, and interact with the immune system in ways that make recovery highly individualized. The conversation explores why some patients improve quickly while others require a broader approach that includes immune support, detoxification, biofilm disruption, herbal therapies, inflammation management, and addressing environmental factors such as mold exposure and toxin burden.

Dr. Hartman and Veronica also explain why personalized treatment plans matter, how Herxheimer reactions can complicate recovery, and why factors such as mast cell activation, chronic inflammation, gut health, and environmental toxins often influence treatment outcomes.

About the Guest

Veronica Porterfield, PA-C, IFMCP, MS, LN, MPAS is a functional medicine practitioner specializing in Lyme disease, chronic infections, mold-related illness, autoimmune conditions, and complex chronic health challenges. She is known for her root-cause approach to patient care and her expertise in helping patients navigate difficult-to-diagnose chronic illnesses.

Key Topics Covered

Why Lyme disease can become difficult to treat in chronic casesThe difference between acute Lyme disease and chronic Lyme diseaseWhy standard Lyme treatment may not work for every patientHow Lyme bacteria change forms to evade treatmentThe role of bacterial biofilms in chronic infectionWhy biofilm disruption is often an important part of treatmentThe differences between bactericidal and bacteriostatic antibioticsWhy some practitioners use herbal therapies alongside conventional treatmentThe role of immune regulation in Lyme recoveryUnderstanding Herxheimer reactions and symptom flares during treatmentHow environmental toxins and mold exposure may complicate recoveryThe relationship between mast cell activation and chronic Lyme symptomsWhy inflammation and cytokine responses influence treatment outcomesHow detoxification pathways impact symptom managementWhy treatment plans must be individualized for each patientThe importance of diet, gut health, and lifestyle factors during recovery

Follow Dr. Aaron Hartman and Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine

🌐 Website: https://richmondfunctionalmedicine.com/

📺 YouTube: @AaronHartmanMD

🔥 Ever wonder why some peptide therapies have generated so much excitement among functional medicine practitioners around the world? Read UnCurable to explore a deeper perspective on healing, chronic illness, and the future of personalized medicine.

What if peptides are helping the body heal in ways that many people have never heard about?

In this solo episode of Made for Health, Dr. Aaron Hartman continues his peptide series by exploring several of the most discussed peptides in functional and regenerative medicine, including Thymosin Alpha-1, Thymosin Beta-4, BPC-157, CJC-1295, Ipamorelin, and GHK-Cu.

He explains the science behind how these compounds interact with the immune system, tissue repair pathways, growth hormone signaling, and cellular healing processes. Drawing from decades of research and clinical experience, Dr. Hartman discusses how these peptides are being used around the world for immune support, recovery, tissue repair, wound healing, healthy aging, and optimizing the body’s natural regenerative capabilities.

The episode also explores the regulatory challenges surrounding peptide therapies, why sourcing and quality matter, and the importance of building a strong foundation through nutrition, sleep, exercise, and lifestyle before considering advanced therapies.

Key Topics Covered

What peptides are and how they support healing and recoveryThe history and research behind Thymosin Alpha-1How Thymosin Alpha-1 supports immune system regulation and T-cell functionWhy Thymosin Alpha-1 has been used internationally for viral infections and immune supportThe role of Thymosin Beta-4 in tissue repair and wound healingHow peptides influence inflammation, regeneration, and recoveryThe science behind BPC-157 and gastrointestinal healingWhy BPC-157 is commonly discussed for tendon, ligament, and tissue repairThe relationship between peptides and growth hormone signalingHow CJC-1295 and Ipamorelin support recovery and healthy agingThe role of GHK-Cu in skin health, collagen production, and regenerationWhy peptide sourcing, quality control, and regulation matterThe differences between pharmaceutical-grade and research-grade peptidesHow lifestyle factors remain the foundation of long-term healthWhy peptides should complement, not replace, foundational health habits

Follow Dr. Aaron Hartman and Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine

🌐 Website: https://richmondfunctionalmedicine.com/

📺 YouTube: @AaronHartmanMD

🔥 Ever wonder if a chronic illness you've been chasing for years could actually be something entirely different? Read UnCurable to explore a deeper perspective on overlooked diagnoses, chronic symptoms, and the root causes that modern medicine sometimes misses.

What if Lyme disease is one of the most overlooked diagnoses in modern medicine?

In this episode of Made for Health, Dr. Aaron Hartman is joined by Veronica Porterfield, PA-C, IFMCP, MS, LN, MPAS, to begin a deep dive into Lyme disease and why it continues to be one of the most misunderstood and frequently missed conditions in healthcare today.

They explore why Lyme disease is often called a "great imitator," capable of presenting as chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, autoimmune disease, neurological disorders, joint pain, cognitive dysfunction, and a wide range of seemingly unrelated symptoms. Through real patient stories, they demonstrate how individuals diagnosed with conditions such as multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, Bell’s palsy, and chronic fatigue were ultimately found to have underlying Lyme disease.

The conversation also highlights the limitations of symptom-based specialty care, the challenges of Lyme testing, and why many patients continue searching for answers for years before receiving an accurate diagnosis. This episode serves as the foundation for a broader Lyme disease series that explores diagnosis, testing, treatment, and recovery.

About the Guest

Veronica Porterfield, PA-C, IFMCP, MS, LN, MPAS is a functional medicine practitioner with extensive experience in chronic illness, Lyme disease, complex infections, autoimmune conditions, and root-cause medicine. She previously trained and worked alongside leading Lyme disease specialists and brings a systems-based approach to identifying and treating chronic health conditions.

Key Topics Covered

Why Lyme disease is often called the "great imitator"How Lyme disease can mimic fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, multiple sclerosis, and autoimmune conditionsWhy many patients never recall a tick bite or develop a classic bull's-eye rashThe connection between Lyme disease and neurological symptomsHow Lyme disease can contribute to joint pain, fatigue, cognitive issues, and chronic inflammationWhy some autoimmune diagnoses may have underlying infectious triggersThe role of mold exposure, Epstein-Barr virus, and other coexisting factors in chronic illnessWhy specialty-based medicine can sometimes miss systemic conditionsReal patient stories involving Bell's palsy, fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis, and chronic fatigueWhy summer flu-like symptoms may warrant consideration of tick-borne illnessHow stress, infections, and immune dysfunction may reactivate dormant symptomsThe limitations of conventional Lyme testingWhy early diagnosis and treatment can dramatically improve outcomesWhat patients should know about advocating for themselves when symptoms remain unexplained

Follow Dr. Aaron Hartman and Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine

🌐 Website: https://richmondfunctionalmedicine.com/

📺 YouTube: @AaronHartmanMD

🔥 Curious why GLP-1 medications are making headlines far beyond weight loss? Read UnCurable to explore a deeper perspective on inflammation, chronic illness, and the future of personalized medicine.

What if GLP-1 medications are doing far more than helping people lose weight?

In this solo episode of Made for Health, Dr. Aaron Hartman takes a deep dive into the science, history, and evolving role of GLP-1 medications, one of the most widely discussed classes of therapies in modern medicine.

Drawing from nearly two decades of clinical experience, he explains how GLP-1 medications have progressed from diabetes treatments to therapies being explored for obesity, cardiovascular disease, kidney health, sleep apnea, inflammation, and neurological conditions. He also addresses common misconceptions about safety, side effects, and why proper dosing plays a critical role in treatment success.

The conversation highlights emerging applications of GLP-1 therapies within functional medicine, including their potential impact on chronic inflammation, mast cell activation, POTS, dysautonomia, and other complex chronic health conditions. Dr. Hartman also emphasizes that no medication replaces the importance of foundational lifestyle habits such as nutrition, sleep, exercise, and environmental health.

Key Topics Covered

The history and evolution of GLP-1 medications from diabetes treatment to modern therapeuticsWhy GLP-1 therapies are not as new as many people believeThe differences between semaglutide, tirzepatide, and emerging therapies like retatrutideHow GLP-1 medications support blood sugar regulation and weight managementThe cardiovascular and kidney-protective benefits of GLP-1 therapiesWhy proper dosing is critical for minimizing side effects and improving outcomesCommon misconceptions about GLP-1 safety and long-term useThe emerging role of GLP-1s in sleep apnea treatmentHow GLP-1 medications may influence inflammation and immune regulationThe connection between GLP-1s, mast cell activation, POTS, and dysautonomiaPotential applications for neurological and neuroinflammatory conditionsWhy obesity is more complex than calories aloneThe different drivers of obesity, including metabolic, inflammatory, toxic, and trauma-related factorsWhy lifestyle foundations remain essential even when using advanced therapies

Follow Dr. Aaron Hartman and Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine

🌐 Website: https://richmondfunctionalmedicine.com/

📺 YouTube: @AaronHartmanMD

🔥 Still struggling with fatigue, weight gain, anxiety, or brain fog… even though your thyroid labs were called “normal”? Read UnCurable to explore a deeper, root-cause approach to chronic symptoms and modern thyroid care.

What if your thyroid labs look “normal”… but your body is still clearly struggling?

In this episode of Made for Health, Dr. Aaron Hartman sits down with nationally recognized thyroid expert McCall McPherson to explore why so many people continue to suffer from thyroid symptoms despite being told their labs are “fine.”

McCall shares her personal story of battling severe thyroid symptoms while taking standard thyroid medication and how that experience ultimately led her to transform thyroid care through a more individualized, root-cause approach. Together, they discuss the limitations of relying on TSH alone, why free T3 and reverse T3 matter, and how many patients with persistent fatigue, depression, anxiety, weight gain, and hormonal dysfunction are often overlooked by conventional medicine.

The conversation also explores the deep connection between thyroid function, insulin resistance, cortisol, environmental toxins, mold exposure, gut health, and women’s hormones. They break down why thyroid dysfunction is rarely isolated to one system and why personalized care can dramatically change both quality of life and long-term health outcomes.

Key Topics Covered

Why many thyroid patients still struggle despite “normal” lab workThe limitations of relying on TSH alone for thyroid diagnosis and medication managementWhy free T3 and reverse T3 are critical thyroid markersHow poor T4 to T3 conversion can leave patients symptomaticThe connection between thyroid dysfunction and depression, anxiety, and fatigueWhy women are frequently dismissed or gaslit in thyroid careHow insulin resistance and blood sugar changes may signal thyroid dysfunction earlyThe relationship between thyroid health, cortisol, adrenal function, and stressHow thyroid dysfunction impacts testosterone, progesterone, and reproductive hormonesThe role of mold exposure, environmental toxins, PFAS, and endocrine disruptorsWhy Hashimoto’s disease often develops years before diagnosisThe difference between levothyroxine, T3 medications, and natural desiccated thyroidWhy personalized thyroid treatment is essential for symptom resolutionThe long-term health risks of untreated hypothyroidism, including heart disease and metabolic dysfunctionWhy thyroid care should focus on both symptom improvement and long-term health outcomes

About the Guest

McCall McPherson, PA-C is a nationally recognized thyroid and hormone expert, TEDx speaker, and founder of Modern Thyroid Clinic and Modern Weight Loss. After overcoming her own severe thyroid struggles, she dedicated her career to helping patients access more comprehensive and individualized thyroid care beyond conventional protocols. Through education, advocacy, and progressive treatment approaches, she has helped thousands of people reclaim their health and quality of life.

Resources & Links

🌐 Modern Thyroid Clinic: https://modernthyroidclinic.com/

🌐 McCall McPherson Website: https://mccallmcpherson.com/

Follow Dr. Aaron Hartman and Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine

🌐 Website: https://richmondfunctionalmedicine.com/

📺 YouTube: @AaronHartmanMD

🔥 Ever wonder how peptides went from a little-known therapy… to one of the biggest conversations in modern medicine? Read UnCurable to explore a deeper perspective on innovation, chronic illness, and the evolving future of healthcare.

What if peptides are not as “new” or “experimental” as many people believe?

In this solo episode of Made for Health, Dr. Aaron Hartman introduces the rapidly growing world of peptides, explaining what they are, how they work, and why therapies like GLP-1 medications have become such a major focus in medicine today.

He breaks down the science behind peptides in simple terms, describing how these amino acid signaling molecules naturally exist throughout the body and play important roles in healing, metabolism, immune regulation, and communication between cells. The episode also explores the differences between pharmaceutical-grade and research-grade peptides, the challenges surrounding regulation and sourcing, and why access to these therapies has become increasingly complicated.

This conversation offers a balanced and educational overview of peptide therapy, emphasizing the importance of quality, safety, and understanding how these compounds interact with the body.

Key Topics Covered

What peptides are and how they function as signaling moleculesWhy GLP-1 medications became one of the most widely discussed peptide therapiesThe difference between peptides and biologicsHow peptides are naturally produced within the bodyWhy amino acids and peptide signaling play important roles in healing and metabolismThe role of the gut microbiome and fermented foods in natural peptide activityHow most modern peptides are synthesized and purifiedThe difference between pharmaceutical-grade and research-grade peptidesFDA peptide classifications and how regulations have changed in recent yearsWhy peptide sourcing and quality control are increasingly importantThe growing challenges patients face accessing peptide therapies safelyWhy education and informed decision-making matter in emerging therapies

Follow Dr. Aaron Hartman and Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine

🌐 Website: https://richmondfunctionalmedicine.com/

📺 YouTube: @AaronHartmanMD

🔥 Ever wonder if some cardiovascular problems begin years before a diagnosis… and whether earlier intervention could actually change the outcome? Read UnCurable to explore a deeper perspective on root-cause medicine, prevention, and long-term health resilience.

What if some of the most important cardiovascular warning signs… are the ones standard testing often overlooks?

In this episode of Made for Health, Dr. Aaron Hartman and Dr. Christian Jenski conclude their cardiovascular series by sharing real patient stories that highlight how root-cause medicine can uncover hidden drivers of vascular disease, stroke risk, inflammation, and metabolic dysfunction.

Through a series of clinical cases, they explore how markers like homocysteine, LP(a), micronutrient deficiencies, environmental toxin exposure, hormone imbalance, and chronic inflammation can contribute to cardiovascular disease long before traditional testing identifies a problem. The conversation also highlights the importance of patient advocacy, early intervention, and looking beyond conventional risk models.

This episode emphasizes that cardiovascular disease is rarely caused by one single factor, and that personalized care, education, and systems-based thinking can help uncover risks earlier and support better long-term outcomes.

Key Topics Covered

How elevated homocysteine may contribute to strokes and vascular inflammationThe role of methylation and B vitamins in cardiovascular and neurological healthWhy micronutrient deficiencies are commonly overlooked in modern healthcareHow LP(a) can increase cardiovascular risk even when traditional cholesterol markers appear normalThe connection between menopause, hormone changes, and vascular agingHow chronic stress and cortisol dysregulation may affect cardiovascular healthEnvironmental toxin exposure, mold illness, and inflammatory vascular conditionsWhy standard stress tests can sometimes miss serious cardiovascular diseaseThe limitations of traditional cardiovascular risk assessmentHow patient advocacy and self-education can improve long-term outcomesThe importance of individualized care plans and upstream preventionWhy cardiovascular disease often involves inflammation, oxidative stress, and endothelial dysfunction rather than cholesterol alone

Follow Dr. Aaron Hartman and Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine

🌐 Website: https://richmondfunctionalmedicine.com/

📺 YouTube: @AaronHartmanMD

🔥 Ever wonder how some treatments once considered completely safe… later turned out to have long-term consequences? Read UnCurable to explore a deeper perspective on medical blind spots, chronic illness, and patient advocacy.

What if some of the most common medical practices of the last few decades… created unintended health consequences we are only now beginning to understand?

In this minisode of Made for Health, Dr. Aaron Hartman continues the conversation on medical blind spots by exploring how antibiotics, opioids, and outdated theories around childhood development shaped healthcare in ways that affected millions of people.

He explains how early antibiotic overuse may disrupt the gut microbiome and influence immune development, allergies, inflammation, obesity, and chronic illness later in life. The episode also revisits the opioid crisis, highlighting how pain treatment practices shifted dramatically after opioids were widely promoted as safe and non-addictive.

This conversation emphasizes the importance of curiosity, patient education, and informed decision-making, while recognizing that medicine is always evolving as new research emerges.

Key Topics Covered

How antibiotic overuse may affect the gut microbiome and immune systemWhy early childhood antibiotic exposure has been linked to obesity and allergiesThe connection between gut bacteria, inflammation, and immune regulationHow reduced microbial diversity may influence autoimmune conditionsThe historical concept of the “refrigerator mom” and how autism was misunderstoodWhy medical gaslighting is not a new phenomenonHow opioids were once widely promoted as safe and non-addictiveThe role of healthcare systems in shaping opioid prescribing practicesWhy chronic opioid use may worsen pain sensitivity over timeThe importance of patient education, autonomy, and informed healthcare decisions

Follow Dr. Aaron Hartman and Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine

🌐 Website: https://richmondfunctionalmedicine.com/

📺 YouTube: @AaronHartmanMD

🔥 Wondering if “heart health” is about more than just cholesterol numbers? Read UnCurable to explore a deeper, whole-body perspective on inflammation, resilience, and long-term health.

What if cardiovascular disease isn’t caused by just one problem… but by dozens of small disruptions happening throughout the body?

In this episode of Made for Health, Dr. Aaron Hartman and Dr. Christian Jenski conclude their cardiovascular series with a deep dive into the hidden factors that influence vascular health, inflammation, and long-term disease risk.

They explore how cardiovascular disease is connected to far more than cholesterol alone, including hormone balance, inflammation, methylation, oral health, gut function, sleep, trauma, environmental toxins, and chronic infections. The conversation also highlights why many “normal” tests can miss early dysfunction, and how upstream markers may reveal risk years before a major event occurs.

This episode offers a systems-based perspective on prevention and longevity, emphasizing that understanding the body as an interconnected network can help uncover deeper root causes and create more personalized approaches to care.

Key Topics Covered

Why cardiovascular disease is about more than cholesterol aloneHow endothelial health influences aging and disease riskThe role of homocysteine and methylation in vascular functionWhy hormone imbalances can increase cardiovascular riskThe connection between hot flashes, erectile dysfunction, and vascular dysfunctionHow chronic inflammation and autoimmune conditions affect the arteriesThe impact of environmental toxins, mold exposure, and air quality on vascular healthWhy oral health and the oral microbiome influence blood pressure and heart diseaseThe connection between gut health, nitric oxide, and vascular functionHow sleep apnea, stress, PTSD, and trauma can contribute to cardiovascular riskThe importance of advanced testing and individualized interpretationWhy early dysfunction often appears years before disease is visible on standard testing

Follow Dr. Aaron Hartman and Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine

🌐 Website: https://richmondfunctionalmedicine.com/

📺 YouTube: @AaronHartmanMD

🔥 Ever feel like some health recommendations might be shaped by more than just what’s best for you? Read UnCurable to explore a deeper perspective on how medical blind spots can influence care and outcomes.

What if some common practices in women’s healthcare… are influenced as much by systems and risk as by science?

In this minisode of Made for Health, Dr. Aaron Hartman explores the concept of “medical feminism” and how certain patterns in healthcare have historically impacted women’s outcomes.

He walks through examples from pregnancy, screening practices, and routine procedures to highlight how medical-legal pressures, outdated guidelines, and systemic habits can shape decision-making in ways that may not always lead to better outcomes. The episode also revisits how recommendations evolve over time, sometimes taking years to reflect newer evidence.

This conversation encourages a more informed and thoughtful approach to healthcare, especially for women, emphasizing the importance of understanding how systems work, asking questions, and staying engaged in personal health decisions.

Key Topics Covered

What “medical feminism” means in the context of healthcareHow medical-legal pressures can influence clinical decisionsThe role of continuous fetal monitoring and its impact on outcomesDifferences in C-section rates across countries and what that may reflectHow screening practices like mammograms can carry both benefits and risksThe concept of false positives and downstream proceduresHow Pap smear guidelines have evolved over timeWhy younger screening can sometimes lead to unnecessary interventionsThe historical context of bias in women’s healthcareThe importance of patient education and self-advocacy

Follow Dr. Aaron Hartman and Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine

🌐 Website: https://richmondfunctionalmedicine.com/

📺 YouTube: @AaronHartmanMD

🔥 Feeling “fine”… but wondering if something could be developing quietly beneath the surface? Read UnCurable to explore a deeper, root-cause approach to prevention and long-term health.

What if heart disease often develops silently… long before any symptoms ever appear?

In this minisode of Made for Health, Dr. Aaron Hartman and Dr. Christian Jenski continue their vascular series by exploring how heart disease can progress quietly, without obvious warning signs.

They break down how plaque forms inside blood vessels, how inflammation and oxidative stress drive that process, and why many people may have underlying disease despite normal cholesterol levels or standard testing. The conversation also highlights the concept of “silent heart attacks” and why symptoms are not always the first signal that something is wrong.

This episode encourages a more proactive and informed approach to cardiovascular health, emphasizing the importance of early detection, deeper testing, and foundational lifestyle habits.

Key Topics Covered

What silent heart attacks are and why they often go unnoticedHow plaque forms inside blood vessels over timeThe difference between soft plaque and calcified plaqueWhy inflammation, oxidative stress, and immune dysfunction drive vascular diseaseHow heart disease can develop even with normal cholesterol levelsThe limitations of standard cholesterol panels and stress testingWhy many people fall into a “middle ground” of undetected riskThe role of advanced testing in identifying early vascular changesHow environmental factors like toxins and metals may contribute to riskWhy prevention and early intervention matter more than waiting for symptoms

Follow Dr. Aaron Hartman and Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine

🌐 Website: https://richmondfunctionalmedicine.com/

📺 YouTube: @AaronHartmanMD

🔥 Ever feel like what you’ve been told about your health doesn’t fully add up… or keeps changing over time? Read UnCurable to explore a deeper perspective on how medical blind spots can shape care and outcomes.

What if some of the most widely accepted health beliefs today… are things we’ll look back on and question?

In this minisode of Made for Health, Dr. Aaron Hartman continues the conversation on medical blind spots, exploring how certain ideas in healthcare can be accepted for years, sometimes decades, before being re-evaluated.

He revisits the history of dietary fat and how it was widely misunderstood, despite early evidence supporting its importance in human health. The episode also highlights more recent examples, including the evolving understanding of Lyme disease and long COVID, showing how recognition and treatment approaches can shift over time.

This conversation encourages listeners to stay curious, informed, and engaged in their own health, recognizing that medicine is constantly evolving and that asking thoughtful questions can play an important role in better outcomes.

Key Topics Covered

What medical blind spots are and why they continue to happenHow early beliefs about dietary fat influenced decades of health recommendationsThe difference between natural fats and highly processed alternativesWhy some early research on cholesterol and heart disease was incompleteHow Lyme disease went unrecognized despite growing evidenceWhy chronic Lyme disease is now receiving broader attentionThe emergence and recognition of long COVID as a real conditionHow medical consensus can take years to evolveThe importance of safety and caution in medical decision-makingWhy patient awareness and self-advocacy are increasingly important

Follow Dr. Aaron Hartman and Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine

🌐 Website: https://richmondfunctionalmedicine.com/

📺 YouTube: @AaronHartmanMD

🔥 Feeling like your hormones aren’t the whole story… and something deeper might be driving your symptoms? Read UnCurable to explore a more complete, root-cause approach to your health.

What if the key to navigating perimenopause and menopause… isn’t just hormones, but what’s happening deep inside your gut?

In this episode of Made for Health, Dr. Aaron Hartman sits down with Cynthia Thurlow to explore the powerful connection between gut health and hormonal changes during midlife. Drawing from her new book The Menopause Gut, Cynthia explains why the microbiome plays a central role in how women experience perimenopause and menopause.

They discuss how shifts in estrogen and progesterone influence gut diversity, inflammation, immune function, and even mood and cognition. The conversation also highlights how symptoms like brain fog, fatigue, weight changes, and digestive issues may be linked to deeper imbalances in the gut, not just declining hormones.

This episode offers a more nuanced perspective on midlife health, emphasizing that while hormone therapy can be helpful, it is only one piece of a much larger puzzle involving lifestyle, stress, nutrition, and the microbiome.

Key Topics Covered

What the gut microbiome is and why it plays a central role in overall healthThe connection between gut health and hormones during perimenopause and menopauseHow declining estrogen impacts gut diversity and inflammationThe role of the “estrobolome” in processing and eliminating estrogenWhy symptoms like brain fog, mood changes, and weight resistance may reflect gut dysfunctionHow leaky gut and inflammation can influence brain health and immune functionThe relationship between stress, cortisol, and microbiome imbalanceWhy perimenopause can act as a “litmus test” for underlying health issuesHow ovarian aging and mitochondrial health are influenced by lifestyle and environmentThe importance of individualized approaches rather than “one-size-fits-all” solutions

Therapies / Concepts Referenced

Gut microbiome and microbial diversityEstrobolome (estrogen-processing component of the microbiome)Gut-brain, gut-ovarian, and gut-immune connectionsLeaky gut and microbial translocationHormone replacement therapy (bioidentical vs synthetic considerations)Cortisol and stress responseSleep optimization and circadian rhythmNutrition: protein intake, fiber, whole foodsDigestive support (enzymes, stomach acid, bile function)Exercise balance (strength training, recovery, metabolic health)

📚 Featured Resource

📘 Book: The Menopause Gut by Cynthia Thurlow

👉 https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/777129/the-menopause-gut-by-cynthia-thurlow-np/

A comprehensive guide to how gut health impacts hormones, inflammation, metabolism, and aging—designed to support women navigating midlife and beyond.

About the Guest

Cynthia Thurlow is a nurse practitioner, author, and internationally recognized expert in women’s health, particularly perimenopause, menopause, and metabolic health. With a background in cardiology and over two decades in clinical practice, she now focuses on helping women understand the connection between hormones, lifestyle, and the microbiome. She is also the host of the Everyday Wellness podcast and a leading voice in integrative health education.

Resources & Links

🌐 Website: https://www.cynthiathurlow.com/

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cynthia_thurlow_/?hl=en

Follow Dr. Aaron Hartman and Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine

🌐 Website: https://richmondfunctionalmedicine.com/

📺 YouTube: @AaronHartmanMD

🔥 Ever feel like health recommendations keep changing… and you're left trying to make sense of what to trust? Read UnCurable to explore a deeper perspective on how medical blind spots can shape care and outcomes.

What if some of the biggest health decisions made over the last few decades… were based on incomplete or misunderstood data?

In this minisode of Made for Health, Dr. Aaron Hartman continues the discussion on medical blind spots, focusing on two major areas where conventional guidance has recently shifted: hormone replacement therapy and dietary fat.

He walks through how earlier research led to widespread fear and reduced use of hormone therapy for women, despite more recent data suggesting broader benefits in areas like heart health and cognitive function. The episode also revisits the long-standing narrative around dietary fat, highlighting how recommendations have evolved after decades of low-fat guidance.

This conversation encourages listeners to reflect on how medical recommendations are shaped, and how staying informed and curious can help navigate an ever-evolving healthcare landscape.

Key Topics Covered

How medical blind spots can shape long-term health recommendationsWhat changed in the understanding of hormone replacement therapyHow earlier studies influenced widespread fear around hormone useWhy newer data suggests a different perspective on hormone therapyThe potential connection between hormone balance and heart healthHow long low-fat dietary guidance influenced public health trendsWhy fats are being reconsidered in modern nutritionThe role of metabolism, blood sugar, and satiety in dietary patternsHow medical recommendations can be influenced by systemic factorsWhy awareness and education can support better health decisions

Follow Dr. Aaron Hartman and Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine

🌐 Website: https://richmondfunctionalmedicine.com/

📺 YouTube: @AaronHartmanMD

🔥 Trying to make sense of what to eat… and why so much nutrition advice seems to keep changing? Read UnCurable to explore a deeper, root-cause perspective on health and healing.

What if much of what we’ve been told about fats, cholesterol, and even milk… isn’t the full picture?

In this episode of Made for Health, Dr. Aaron Hartman sits down with Sally Fallon Morell, author of Nourishing Traditions and founder of the Weston A. Price Foundation, to explore the foundations of traditional nutrition and how modern dietary guidelines have evolved over time.

They discuss the role of nutrient-dense foods like animal fats, raw milk, and organ meats, and how shifts toward processed foods and industrial oils may have influenced long-term health trends. The conversation also explores how cholesterol, saturated fats, and fat-soluble vitamins support brain function, hormones, and overall physiology.

This episode invites a broader perspective on nutrition, encouraging listeners to look beyond simplified labels like “good” or “bad” and instead consider how whole foods, preparation methods, and individual needs can all play a role in health.

Key Topics Covered

How dietary guidelines have changed over time and why that mattersThe role of saturated fats in supporting cell membranes and hormonesWhy cholesterol is essential for brain function and overall healthDifferences between traditional fats and processed vegetable oilsThe importance of fat-soluble vitamins A, D, and KHow butter, egg yolks, and organ meats contribute to nutrient densityThe potential connection between fat intake and cravings or satietyHow raw milk differs from pasteurized milk in structure and functionThe role of nutrient-dense foods in supporting development and resilienceWhy food quality, sourcing, and preparation methods may matter

About the Guest

Sally Fallon Morell is the author of the best-selling cookbook Nourishing Traditions and a leading advocate for traditional, nutrient-dense diets. She is the founding president of the Weston A. Price Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to restoring whole, ancestral foods to modern diets. Her work focuses on the benefits of raw milk, animal fats, organ meats, bone broths, and traditional food preparation methods.

Resources & Links

🌐 Weston A. Price Foundation: https://www.westonaprice.org/about-us/welcome-from-sally-fallon-morell/#gsc.tab=0

📸 Instagram (Sally Fallon Morell): https://www.instagram.com/sallyfallonmorell/

Follow Dr. Aaron Hartman and Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine

🌐 Website: https://richmondfunctionalmedicine.com/

📺 YouTube: @AaronHartmanMD